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What Is PCI, And Why Is It Important?

The PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a written standard that contains technical requirements. These technical requirements protect and secure payment card data during processing, handling, storage, and transmission for businesses. Businesses that handle payment card data must adhere to these requirements and become PCI compliant.

PCI compliance is important for different reasons. The first reason is to protect card data from hackers and thieves. Hackers and thieves can cause expensive data breaches. These costly data breaches can be prevented by following the PCI DSS. The PCI DSS keeps the businesses’ data secure and protects their employees and customers.

Another reason PCI DSS is important is it boosts customer confidence. Customer confidence can affect the profitability of businesses because they prioritize the safekeeping of their payment data. By securing their payment data through PCI DSS, customers have confidence and peace of mind to take their businesses.

PCI DSS is important to provide a security standard. Having a security standard serves as a guide for every business when it comes to information security. Information security through PCI DSS is achieved by having specific rules for different businesses depending on size, type, and methods of storing data.

Lastly, another crucial reason why PCI DSS is important is to reduce the number of lawsuits, fines, and costs of data breaches. Lawsuits and fines due to data breaches can be reduced through PCI DSS. PC DSS can help in preventing data breaches that cost a lot of money on replacing credit cards, paying fines, paying compensations for customers, investigation costs, and audits.

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What Is The PCI Compliance Process?

The PCI compliance process is composed of several steps. The first step is to determine the PCI compliance level. The PCI compliance level depends on the number of credit card transactions a business handles on a yearly basis. Level 1 is for over 6 million transactions annually. Level 2 is between 1 million to 6 million yearly transactions. Transactions for Level 3 are between 20,000 to 1 million. Level 4 is for less than 20,000 transactions per year.

The next step in the PCI compliance process is to create a PCI compliance team. The PCI compliance team is designed to keep track of the business entity’s PCI compliance needs. To handle compliance needs, people from the following departments must be included, such as finance, information technology, risk management, compliance, legal, and internal audit.

The third step in the PCI compliance process is to complete the self-assessment questionnaire (PCI SAQ). The PCI SAQ consists of a list of security standards that businesses must review and follow. This list will be submitted to payment brands to demonstrate PCI compliance.

The next steps in the PCI compliance process are toward developing a strong information security system. A strong information security system can be achieved by securing the network with a firewall, strengthening passwords, implementing access controls, encrypting cardholder data, and protecting stored data. Once these steps are completed, the Attestation of Compliance (AOC) is generated. The AOC can be used to demonstrate to credit card companies and banks that the business is PCI compliant.

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What Is A PCI Certificate?

A PCI certificate is a document that proves a company has completed the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) self-assessment questionnaire. The certificate is issued by the PCI Security Standards Council and is valid for one year. The PCI Security Standards Council is a global forum for the development of payment card security standards. The PCI Security Standards Council is responsible for the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which provides a framework for businesses to protect cardholder data. The PCI Security Standards Council is governed by an executive committee that includes representatives from each of the founding companies, as well as other major payment brands. The PCI Security Standards Council offers a number of resources to help businesses implement the PCI DSS, including training and certification programs, self-assessment questionnaires, and guidance documents.

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How Long Is A PCI Certification?

The PCI certification process can last between one day or two weeks, depending on how fast the merchant entity can complete all the steps for PCI certification. The steps for PCI certification cover five areas, namely PCI level analysis, self-assessment questionnaire completion, secure environment building and maintenance, formal attestation of compliance completion, and paperwork completion with credit card companies.

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How Many PCI Controls Are There?

There are 12 PCI controls. These 12 PCI controls are spread into six groups which are the following:

• Maintain secure network and systems

            1. Establish firewalls and web filtering for cardholder data protection

           2. Replace default or vendor-supplied device security configurations

• Protect payment card and cardholder data

            3. Protect stored cardholder data in company servers and networks

            4. Conceal transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks

• Maintain a system of vulnerability management

           5. Use and update anti-virus and malware software regularly

           6. Develop secured protocols and behaviors across all applications

• Maintain identity and access management

            7. Restrict access to cardholder data by businesses need to know

           8. Assign a unique ID to each authorized person

           9. Limit physical access to cardholder data

• Assess network traffic and activity regularly

           10. Monitor access to network resources, mainly cardholder data

           11. Test security systems and processes regularly

• Maintain a staff-wide information security policy

           12. Maintain security policy accessible and addressed to all personnel

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What Are The Four Levels Of PCI Compliance?

The four levels of PCI compliance determine the number of transactions per year of a business entity. The threshold for the four levels of PCI compliance is varied on each of the payment brands.

The first level of compliance covers merchants that process over 6 million transactions annually. The annual transactions of merchants between 1 million and 6 million belong in Level 2. Level 3 covers merchants that process between 20,000 and 1 million annual transactions. For annual transactions less than 20,000, merchants belong to Level 4.

The level of compliance can also be affected by other factors. These factors include merchants that suffered a cyber-attack and merchants that pose an information security risk

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How Do You Do A PCI Risk Assessment?

To do a PCI risk assessment, you must follow several steps. The first step is to map your card data flow. Mapping your card data flow is identifying where your card data is stored, processed, transmitted, and backed up. In identifying the location of credit card data in your system, you must create a data flow diagram. A data flow diagram checks the following locations, such as where credit data enters your business, where your system process card data, where card data leaves your environment, and where your system stores card data.

The second step in doing a PCI risk assessment is to identify vulnerabilities, threats, and risks. Vulnerabilities are loopholes in your defense that can cause data breaches. Data breaches can be caused by organizational and security flaws like operating system problems, lack of security policies, wrongly configured firewalls, and incorrectly coded websites. Threats are the potential to trigger weaknesses like hackers who download malware to your system, power outages, work partners, and chemical leakages. Risks measure the likelihood of a threat exploiting a vulnerability and resulting in a security breach.

The next important step in doing a PCI risk assessment is to analyze your risk level. Analyzing your risk level considers two factors, such as the likelihood of occurrence and potential impact. The risk level must be assigned to each vulnerability and threat using high, medium, and low.

The next step in PCI risk assessment is to create a risk management plan. A risk management plan involves the following measures, such as planning how security controls will be evaluated, prioritized, and implemented, applying the appropriate security approach to tackle the highest risk areas, checking the security measures you have put in place, and watching out for new risks.

The last step in doing a PCI risk assessment is to create the documents required for PCI DSS. The PCI DSS recommends a formal risk assessment report. The risk assessment report must include the following information, such as the scope of the risk assessment, asset inventory, threats, vulnerabilities, risk assessment, risk treatment, version history, and executive summary.

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How Can I Check If A Company Is PCI Compliant?

To check if a company is PCI compliant, you can check the company’s Attestation of Compliance (AOC). The AOC is a formal proof that the company is in compliance with the PCI DSS requirements. This document shows an overview of the in-scope environment and business process, the level of assessment, specific requirements and sub-requirements that are in compliance with, and the date of the last assessment.

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