SecureConnect, an industry leader in providing Internet security and Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance services, is pleased to announce that it has been selected as the approved PCI compliance provider for Hungry Howie’s Pizza and its franchise community. As a business that accepts credit and debit cards as a form of payment, the brand is very aware of the importance of protecting that information, so the pizza chain decided to make every location secure by mandating PCI compliance among its franchise community.
After evaluating all their vendor options, Hungry Howie’s corporate decided that the SecureConnect National Account Program was the best choice for their franchise. The program offers franchisors a cost-effective, comprehensive solution that is customized to the unique needs of the franchise.
“We wanted to find one company that was a complete security provider. SecureConnect can do everything we need them to do, and will point our franchisees in the right direction to become PCI compliant,” says Dan McKay, director of IT for Hungry Howie’s Pizza.
In partnership with SecureConnect, the brand spearheaded an aggressive effort to implement PCI compliance solutions at its 500 plus locations. Hungry Howie’s set a target date for PCI compliance for its franchisees and through webinars, email communications, and educational sessions at the annual Hungry Howie’s National Franchisee Convention, were able to educate its franchisees to help them understand the importance behind the initiative.
“Realizing the value of protecting customer cardholder data and the Hungry Howie’s brand, the corporate team didn’t take this project lightly,” says Bill Wimmergren, national account executive for SecureConnect, “After carefully evaluating their options, they decided to leverage the expertise of a security-focused company, making our team to become an extension of theirs on this project.”
SecureConnect provides a fully-managed network security and compliance solutions, allowing franchisees to focus their attention on the day-to-day business operations within their restaurants. Essential services provided by SecureConnect include a Unified Threat Management (UTM) firewall, centralized logging and reporting, 24x7x365 monitoring and support, quarterly internal and external vulnerability scanning, SAQ assistance, online PCI compliance training, and a $100,000 breach protection program.
Hungry Howie’s Pizza is a great example of how franchise organizations should approach PCI compliance and network security. The franchise took a straight forward approach by setting a reasonable PCI compliance target and at the same time educated its franchisees on the need for a compliance solution. This approach was quick and effective and now Hungry Howie’s franchisees and the brand are protected. SecureConnect is able to not just deliver compliance, but true security beyond PCI.
