Comments on: Editor’s Note: Very Sad News

By: Jennifer Fischer

Jennifer Fischer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:38:30 +0000

I just heard of Dave Taylor’s passing and am very saddened by the news. I’ve known Dave for many years and recently saw him at the PCI SSC’s community meeting in Vegas. He was a tireless advocate for data security, and I always found our discussions incredibly insightful, energetic and constructive. Dave added a great deal to the dialogue, and he will be missed. Sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

By: Richard Haag

Richard Haag — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:51:51 +0000

I am saddened to hear of Dave’s passing. I remember some long discussions with him when he launched the PCI knowledge base. I was very impressed with his professionalism and straight forward approach and enjoyed watching the PCI knowledge base flourish. My condolences to the family, Dave will be missed.

By: Steve Sommers

Steve Sommers — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:17:34 +0000

Very shocking and very sad. My thoughts and prayer’s are with him and his family.

By: Branden Williams

Branden Williams — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:16:16 +0000

I’m going to miss the lively discussions that he hosted and participated in. The PCI world suffered a huge loss. My team & I want to convey our deep sorrow at this news.

By: Tyler Hannan

Tyler Hannan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:44:21 +0000

Rest in Peace.

-tyler

By: Bill McNee

Bill McNee — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:10:12 +0000

I had the honor and pleasure of working with Dave for many years at Gartner Group in the 1990s. He was key member and leader of the research team that helped build the business. I remember him most as a deep expert in eCommerce, business applications and an early pioneer in understanding the importance and value of the internet to businesses of all types and sizes. I am not surprised to read that he went on to be a pioneer in other areas, such as the PCI industry. He had a keen mind, and the ability to cut through the hype and provide great value for our customers.

But what I most remember about Dave was his wry sense of humor. He built a tight team – and I could tell they all enjoyed working together, in an especially collegial way. He was a mentor to many, and will be sorely missed.

Bill McNee
Founder/CEO
Saugatuck Technology
and Gartner Alum (1988-2000)

By: Marcus M Shaw

Marcus M Shaw — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:17:18 +0000

I’m one of his High School Classmates. We still communicate among our graduating class of 1970 in Clarksville Indiana on a sight developed for us. His passing has been noted and I’m sure we will remember him fondly for his tenure with us during those times. He will be sorely missed. Thank you all for the kind words you have given him in your industry.

By: Charles Crawford

Charles Crawford — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:07:15 +0000

My compliments, Evan, on your hear-felt tribute to Dr. Dave Taylor. Dave was a good friend of ours at EPX and the entire data security community and leaves a huge void.

Dave, a long-time Gartner Group senior analyst earlier in his career, became one of the best known and most respected subject matter experts on cardholder data security and, of late, a specialist on emerging technologies such as credit card data tokenization and so-called “end to end” encryption. Dave was an unapologetic “academic researcher at heart.” His public expressions tended to always start with the words “…according to our research…” Yet, the scope of his intellect such that he always took his audience well above the minutiae and spoke clairvoyantly to the trends and meanings of complicated and conflicting information. We enjoyed his strong, pull-no-punches, gadfly opinions and amazed that he could take sides, yet somehow remain so steadfastly unbiased in his analyses.

Dave’s pioneering resource site, http://www.pciknowledgebase.com, is his legacy to those who seriously concerned about consumer data security — whether vendors, professional PCI QSAs, CIOs, CSOs or academics. The site is a substantive touch-point for detailed knowledge of PCI – with its illustrious “Panel of Experts” and in depth research reports involving hundreds of thorough interviews conducted over months and years. For his memory, and the community the Knowledge Base served, let’s hope his family finds a way to continue what he started.

Those who had the good fortune of getting to know Dave a bit on a personal level, found in him a warm and outgoing personality, boundless energy and good humor… a quick wit, and a nice thing to say about almost everyone he knew.

By: Philip J. Philliou

Philip J. Philliou — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:35:49 +0000

What a loss – such sad news. May his memory be eternal.

Phil Philliou

By: Robert Udowitz

Robert Udowitz — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:42:53 +0000

David’s insights along with his quick wit made the PCI Knowledge Base so important to the industry. His contributions will be missed and never forgotten. My heart goes out to his family.

By: PCI Security Standards Council

PCI Security Standards Council — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:35:27 +0000

All of us at the PCI Security Standards Council are deeply saddened to hear of David’s passing. David was a vocal proponent of strengthening payment security and played an important role in increasing the market’s knowledge of PCI Standards and issues.

While we did not always agree with his opinions, the constructive and thoughtful debate David fueled helped elevate awareness of the need for improved payment security. His presence in the payment ecosystem will be sorely missed.

We wish to express our deepest condolences to David’s family, friends and colleagues.

Bob, Troy, Ella – PCI SSC

By: Wasim Ahmad

Wasim Ahmad — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:06:29 +0000

Very sad, our thoughts go out to his family. We really enjoyed reading David’s insightful analysis. We’ll miss his blog.

By: Kenneth

Kenneth — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:23:48 +0000

Worked with Dave Taylor at NRF last year and at Cisco PCI virtual Event. He will be missed.

My condolences to the family.

By: Chris Rallo

Chris Rallo — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:10:20 +0000

I have had the pleasure of working with Dave on several PCI initiatives. He will be missed greatly.

By: Della Lowe

Della Lowe — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:54:18 +0000

When I heard about Dave’s death this morning I was really saddened. Dave was not only smart and passionate about his work but he was also generous with his time. There was never a time I called Dave for clarification or information on the PCI standard or the retail industry that he did not give fully of his attention and knowledge. He was an important voice and will be missed greatly both as a business colleague and a friend.

By: Mike Dahn

Mike Dahn — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:54:16 +0000

I never met Dave in person but we spoke on the phone many times over the years and I’m happy to have known him, even if through distance.

I know his desire to make this world a better place will be missed. I am very sad to hear about this shocking news. He was a good man from what I knew of him and hope his family the best in this hard time.

I think you can say his influence in the payment card industry can be seen by his numerous connections and the people who called him a friend.

By: Barb DeYoung

Barb DeYoung — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:53:38 +0000

Dave will be missed for his realistic view of information security and his perspective on what was important. The time we spent talking PCI during a survey convinced me he was an important voice in the efforts to improve the standard. We had a great conversation, with plenty of the humour mentioned above. He will be missed.

By: Richard Mader

Richard Mader — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:15:24 +0000

David was a gentleman, and the PCI expert. Always willing to share his time and information. He played a key role in the development of the NRF-ARTS PCI best practices and spoke at several of our event.

Shocked and saddened by this news, he will be sorely missed.

By: Rafael Rosado

Rafael Rosado — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:07:16 +0000

I am shocked and saddened to hear this. May God accept David in His Kingdom!

Dave had a true passion for PCI (and very vocal as well regarding his opinions). He started the PCI Security Interest Group in Dallas recently as he moved into the area and I was honored to have the opportunity to meet him personally.

I even saw him recently at the PCI SSC Regional Meeting in Las Vegas and he seemed full of life and energy. Just another demonstration that our time in this life is short and we don’t know the time or moment that we will be summoned.

Dave will definitely be missed in the industry.

By: David Dorf

David Dorf — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:08:33 +0000

Sad news indeed. Dave was a nice guy and did much to help our industry. He will be missed.

By: Walt Conway

Walt Conway — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:28:38 +0000

I, too, was shocked and deeply saddened to hear the news of Dave’s passing. I had the great privilege of working with Dave on the PCI Knowledge base. We did a couple of webinars together, and we spoke just the other week making plans for him to join me at a PCI workshop in the Spring. Dave had an irascible wit, and he never followed our plan/script during a webinar…doubtless to the great benefit of everyone who ever listened! Dave was knowledgeable, professional, and a keen nose for what was real and what wasn’t. Like many others, I learned much from Dave, and I shall miss him terribly.