Overview of PCI Compliance:
Consumers have a baseline level of protection under PCI that reduces fraudulent activity and data breaches. Here is what PCI compliance involves for any business that processes credit cards:
· Secure data storage following the 12 security domains of the PCI standards
· Annual validation of required security controls including forms, questionnaires, external vulnerability scanning services, and third-party audits.
Handling Credit Card Data:
Companies that do process credit card data will need to meet the requirements of 300+ security controls in PCI.
There are third-party solutions that handle and store this information securely. Credit card data never touches the company’s servers, so a company only needs to confirm 22 security controls.
Securing and Storing Data:
In an organisation that handles and stores all credit card information, there needs to be a definition in the scope of its cardholder data environment (CDE). And since PCI has 300+ security requirements, proper segmentation of the payment environment should be implemented to limit the scope of PCI validation.
PCI Compliance Validation:
All organisations have to complete a PCI validation form annually, whichever way credit card data is accepted. The PCI compliance validation will depend on various circumstances. You can find the latest set of security standards here.
Qualified Security Assessors & Expectations
A qualified security assessor (QSA) is someone who helps companies identify gaps within their cybersecurity. QSA companies are known as independent security organisations in which they have been qualified by the PCI Security Standards Council to validate an entity’s adherence to PCI DSS.
PCI Compliance Self-Assessment Questionnaire:
Before a QSA assesses your business, there should be a risk assessment performed first. There are nine different forms of Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQs), which are a subset of PCI DSS requirements. Finding out what is applicable or what is necessary for hiring a QSA will give a company some knowledge as to how to meet these requirements.
Consequences of violating PCI
While PCI compliance creates levels of maximum security, some organisations are still not fully compliant. If your organisation is not PCI compliant, you could pay a hefty fee of $100,000 per month.
Maintaining PCI Compliance:
Maintaining PCI compliance is an ongoing process and not a one-time thing. Some credit card brands require your business to validate compliance through quarterly, annual reports, or a yearly on-site assessment.
What Are the 12 Main Requirements for PCI Compliance?
1. Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
2. Regularly test security systems and processes
3. Protect stored cardholder data
4. Identify and authenticate access to system components
5. Restrict physical access to cardholder data
6. Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
7. Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters
8. Maintain a policy that addresses information security for all personnel
9. Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open or public networks
10. Protect all systems against malware and regularly update anti-virus software
11. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
12. Restrict access to cardholder data by business need to know
Summary
PCI compliance helps, but do believe that it is never enough. If you think this is too much for your business to do on its own, find a secure payment processor that can provide this service. Just remember that the overall importance of PCI compliance is to protect your business and your customers’ privacy.
If you’d like to know more about PCI compliance, take a look around our website www.cxportal.com or give us a call on +442034416513 where our team is ready and waiting to assist.
Mary Southgate
CXPORTAL is your award-winning AI, ML, SAP Commerce Cloud and eCommerce digital transformation solutions provider, CXPORTAL is specialised in Innovating business strategy, design and development of digital products, digital platforms engineering and data science solutions. CXPORTAL Leverage Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning Algorithms, Deep Learning Models, and big data Analytics to unlock and scale your business data, and optimising the operating model for exponential business impact.
