Company Profiles - Witham Laboratories
Witham Laboratories |
| The growth of global e-business has increased demand for the payment security expertise of Victoria’s Witham Laboratories. |
The story so far |
| Established in Melbourne in 1996, Witham Laboratories has unique capabilities for independently evaluating payment card systems and devices, particularly for testing PIN entry devices such as ATMs and those providing cryptographic services. The introduction of uniform global security requirements for payment card devices and systems has seen its business grow significantly in recent years. Witham Laboratories is accredited by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council to evaluate devices and systems against its uniform global standards. It is one of just eight companies, and the only one outside North America and Europe, accredited to test PIN entry devices against the PCI PIN Entry Device Security Standards, including the new Hardware Security Module, and Unattended Payment Terminal standards introduced in 2009. Witham Laboratories is also among a handful of companies in the Asia Pacific that helps companies meet the PCI’s Data Security Standard (DSS) and Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) as well as the MasterCard POS Terminal Security program. “Consumers won’t use payment card systems unless they trust that their personal information and money are safe,” said Witham Laboratories’ Operations Manager, Mario Sist. “Payment devices and system must be independently tested against global security standards. We have extensive knowledge and skills in security review, code review, cryptography and network security.” |
Reaching new markets |
| Demand for the company’s services is increasing as the payment cards industry expands. It now has clients on five continents, with a particularly strong presence in the Asia Pacific region. Clients include major banks and retailers, hardware manufacturers as well as software developers. “They value the high level of knowledge and skills we bring and the ‘real world’ experience our consultants have from working in data-sensitive sectors,” said Mario. The company has also expanded its services to offer training and seminars in the PCI requirements, as well as other areas of payment systems security such as cryptography and key management for financial systems. Witham Laboratories consultants also regularly speak at global industry events and are strong contributors to the ongoing development of PCI security standards vital to the growth of the global payment card industry. |
Why Victoria? |
| Victoria provides the right resources and environment for Witham Laboratories to continue expanding its business. “Australians were early adopters of payment card systems in the 1980s so there is significant experience in e-security here,” said Mario. “The overall business environment in Victoria is also mature and sophisticated and we have a well established ICT sector which includes a solid e-security cluster with a global focus.” Witham Laboratories needs access to highly skilled people and it benefits from its links to some of the best universities in Australia, which produce the nation’s highest proportion of engineering, ICT and mathematics graduates. The state’s diverse multicultural population and bilingual capabilities is also important to Witham Laboratories as it consolidates and expands its global business. “We could move the business anywhere in the world now and succeed, but the combined business and lifestyle advantages of Victoria are hard to ignore, and we would need a very compelling reason to leave,” said Mario. |
The future |
| Witham Laboratories expects demand for its services to continue strengthening as payment devices and technologies evolve. “Consumers increasingly want the flexibility to make payments with smartcards, mobile phones and via the internet but there are still risks associated with these technologies,” said Mario. “The right policies and procedures must be in place to ensure data security and authentication, and all devices and products must be rigorously tested.” Witham Laboratories plans to consolidate its position as a world leader in developing PCI security standards and high level consultancy services. “Data security is now a major priority for businesses and organisations and they will continue to need help to understand the changing nature of risk as well as the impacts of new technologies and evolving protection measures,” said Mario. “Our reputation, specialist knowledge and skills mean that we’re well positioned to provide these services anywhere in the world.” |
