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What is PCI DSS compliance? Is your organization compliant?

Thamizh Poonkuil Mozhi

Apr 2010 min read

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PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. The PCI standards are managed and developed by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). The PCI SSC's members are the major payment card brands: Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, and JCB.

The primary goal of PCI DSS is to set technical and operational standards for all organizations that accept, store, process, and transmit the payment card information of customers. The intention is to provide an additional layer of security throughout the transaction process and maintain a secure environment.

1. Why PCI DSS?

Data thieves are always on the lookout for cardholder data. Once security is breached, they obtain the primary account number and sensitive authentication data. With the collected data, they impersonate the cardholder.

According to the FTC, from 2019 to 2020, the number of identity theft reports went up 113%

Card details can be compromised anywhere. Thus, protecting stored cardholder data and encrypting the transmission of cardholder data across public and open networks is important. The compelling need for businesses to have a hybrid workplace has led to an increased risk of security breaches as any data can be accessed and hacked anywhere, anytime, and through any device.

According to Reed Smith, cyber scams increased 400% in March 2020, making COVID-19 the largest ever security threat.

The sole purpose of PCI DSS is to protect cardholder data from hackers. By complying with PCI DSS, your data is kept secure, and you avoid costly data breaches.

To whom does PCI DSS apply?

  • PCI DSS compliance applies to everyone.
  • Verizon's 2020 Payment Security Report states that only 27.9% of organizations were able to maintain full compliance with PCI DSS.
  • Does your organization accept or process payment cards? Then you need to comply with PCI DSS.

PCI DSS benefits

PCI DSS compliance usually gets pushed down the security checklist as organizations assume it to be a tedious task involving a maze of technicalities. But organizations that fail to comply with PCI DSS risk the loss of greater things: their customers' trust and their reputations.

Below are some important benefits of PCI DSS:

  • Your systems are more secure against payment card data theft.
  • Your customers trust you with their sensitive payment card information.
  • Your reputation with your payment brands and acquirers improves.
  • Your organization meets global security standards.

PCI DSS requirements

PCI DSS includes a set of 12 requirements relating to network and resource security, with a core focus on protecting cardholder data. To be PCI-DSS-compliant, your organization needs to implement these security controls:

  • Install and maintain firewall configurations to protect cardholder data.
  • Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters.
  • Protect stored cardholder data.
  • Encrypt the transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks.
  • Use and regularly update antivirus software.
  • Develop and maintain secure systems and applications.
  • Restrict access to cardholder data on a need-to-know basis.
  • Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access.
  • Restrict physical access to cardholder data.
  • Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data.
  • Regularly test security systems and processes.
  • Maintain a policy that addresses information security for all personnel.

Is your organization compliant with PCI DSS?

PCI DSS compliance is a mandate, regardless of your company's size and the number of payment card transactions you process over a period of 12 months. Based on the annual number of transactions your organization handles, there are four compliance levels.

Level Transaction volume/year
Level 1 > 6 million transactions
Level 2 1 to 6 million transactions
Level 3 20,000 to 1 million transactions
Level 4 < 20,000 transactions

Each of the payment card brands of the PCI SSC has its own compliance program. Your first step towards getting your organization compliant is to find out what compliance level your organization is at today by checking with the payment card company you are using. Ensure you carry out the validation processes as prescribed by the company.

Protecting your organization from data theft doesn't have to feel like a hard climb if you identify the right PCI DSS compliance tool. A holistic security solution like AD360 helps companies audit and generate real-time compliance reports on logon attempts, audit policy changes, domain policy changes, file access, file creation, file deletion, failed logon authentication, and many more critical elements of PCI DSS compliance.

Remember, complying with PCI DSS is the best security guard against financial fraud.