What is the global data protection standard maintained by a consortium of payment card companies?

The global data protection standard maintained by a consortium of payment card companies is PCI DSS, which stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. This standard was created to ensure that companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment.

PCI DSS is essential because it sets forth a framework of security requirements that organizations must follow to protect cardholder data from theft and fraud. The standard includes specific guidelines around the protection of sensitive data, as well as maintaining secure systems and networks, implementing strong access control measures, and regularly monitoring and testing networks. Compliance with PCI DSS is critical for businesses involved in payment card transactions to instill trust and protect consumer data effectively.

The other options represent different regulations or models that serve distinct purposes. CMMI focuses on process improvement in organizations rather than data security for payment transactions. COPPA is specifically aimed at protecting the privacy of children online, rather than addressing data protection standards for payment card transactions. GDPR is a comprehensive data protection law in the European Union that regulates the handling of personal data but is not specifically focused on payment card data.