Maestro PMS Certified for PCI Compliancy, PA-DSS Standards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 24, 2009

NORTHWIND-Maestro PMS, provider of Maestro™ enterprise Property Management hotel software and reservation software solutions for the hospitality industry, announced that the PCI Security Standards Council certified the Maestro PMS as fully compliant with the Payment Card Industry's Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) and added Maestro to their website List of Validated Payment Applications.

"NORTHWIND is committed to doing all it can to help its users meet their PCI responsibilities and protect them and their guests from fraud," said Warren Dehan, president of NORTHWIND-Maestro PMS. "The PCI Standards Council certified that the Maestro PMS Suite is fully compliant with the industry standards for data security. To achieve certification, NORTHWIND engaged a Qualified Security Assessor to validate that its Maestro PMS Suite, its related documentation, and NORTHWIND's internal procedures, meet the PA-DSS guidelines that govern technology companies handling critical data. This certification of compliance is an essential step for our clients to maintain compliancy for their properties."

Maestro exceeds PCI data security requirements

An additional data protection feature that NORTHWIND implemented is credit card 'tokenization.' Tokenization reduces a hotel's security risk if a data compromise occurs by not storing any credit card information in the Maestro database. NORTHWIND's tokenization feature exceeds the minimum requirements of the PCI standards.

PCI security standards are dictated by the credit card industry to help properties protect guest information with appropriate security measures. The standard guidelines stipulate that by July 1, 2010 all credit card acquirers must ensure all merchants that use payment application software, including property management systems, use only systems that have been validated as compliant with PA-DSS requirements.

NORTHWIND provides PCI compliance consulting to operators

NORTHWIND takes the data security standards of its Maestro system seriously and is committed to working with clients and partners to ensure the most secure operating environment to meet PCI PA-DSS requirements. The newest version of the Maestro Property Management Suite is ready to be a key part of your PCI effort. NORTHWIND's PA-DSS upgrade comes at no cost to users under its Maestro Diamond Plus service offering. NORTHWIND also provides PCI audit assistance from its professional service staff. NORTHWIND's team is knowledgeable on the PCI guidelines and ready to help operators understand the steps required to achieve full compliance.