SecureState, a Visa QDSC, is 1 of Approximately 50 Companies in the Nation and the Only in Ohio Qualified to Provide Network Audits for the Payment Card Industry(PCI).

CLEVELAND -- Please replace the release with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions in the last paragraph.

The corrected release reads:

SECURESTATE, A VISA QDSC, IS 1 OF APPROXIMATELY 50 COMPANIES IN THE NATION AND THE ONLY IN OHIO QUALIFIED TO PROVIDE NETWORK AUDITS FOR THE PAYMENT CARD INDUSTRY(PCI)

SecureState LLC (SecureState), a premier provider of information security assessment & protection solutions and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, announced their Qualified Data Security Company (QDSC) accreditation. This qualification enables SecureState to perform PCI Data Security Assessments for merchants and service providers who store, process or transmit payment card data.

In June 2001, Visa's Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) set forth security requirements for all Visa merchants and third-party service providers mandating protection of cardholder data. Visa and MasterCard officially announced, in 2004, the need for a common set of security requirements and a single validation process, thus creating the PCI Data Security Standard. American Express and Discover Card have endorsed this Standard within their respective programs and have indicated that they will accept Visa QDSC on-site assessments.

As a Visa QDSC, SecureState's security and certification services are at the core of their proactive and dynamic security program which exceeds industry regulatory standards. Visa states, that in the event of a security breach, "The entity must be in full compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard at the time of the breach, as demonstrated during a forensic investigation ... (and) have validated full compliance prior to the compromise."

By providing mandated or just recommended on-site reviews and assessments, SecureState can verify compliance of practices such as physical site protection and restricted access to data processing equipment including confirmation of staff compliance with security policies.

About SecureState:

SecureState LLC, a woman-owned certified 8(a) small business, is a premier provider of innovative security solutions that address Physical, Logical and Personnel security layers. Services such as e.discovery, data forensics, security compliance, Information Security Risk Assessments (INFOSEC) and vulnerability Testing are at the core of SecureState's comprehensive security solutions offering.

SecureState has both fixed and mobile state-of-the-art computer forensics labs. In addition, all SecureState engineers involved in information security consulting undergo and maintain both government and commercial background investigations.