Patent ID: 7930753

Claim:
A method for implementing a security risk assessment for a merchant entity having connectivity to a shared network, the method comprising: receiving at a host computer system including a processor, from each of a plurality of payment-processing organizations, a set of security requirements defining protocols for implementing commercial transactions over the shared network using instruments identified with the payment-processing organization; developing, with the processor at the host computer system, a security test scheme having a set of test requirements whose satisfaction by the merchant entity is sufficient to ensure compliance with the sets of security requirements defined by each of the plurality of payment-processing organizations; performing a remote scan of a network site maintained by the merchant entity on the shared network in support of shared-network commercial transactions with a security compliance authority server by the host computer system, the remote scan implementing at least a subset of the set of test requirements to evaluate compliance by the merchant entity; and transmitting a questionnaire from the host computer system to the merchant entity with the security compliance authority server, the questionnaire including queries whose truthful response identifies a level of compliance with at least some of the test requirements.