PCI DSS
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a global standard designed to protect cardholder data and secure payment transactions.
Table of Contents
What is PCI DSS?
First introduced in 2004, PCI DSS was developed by major credit card companies including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. It provides a framework of requirements for merchants, processors, and service providers handling cardholder data.
The standard is overseen by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC).
Scope and applicability
PCI DSS applies to any organization that stores, processes, or transmits cardholder data. This includes:
- Merchants accepting card payments.
- Payment processors and gateways.
- Cloud and service providers handling financial transactions.
Failure to comply can result in fines, increased transaction fees, or revocation of the ability to process card payments.
Key requirements
- Build and maintain secure networks: firewalls, segmentation, and secure configurations.
- Protect cardholder data: encryption in storage and transit.
- Maintain vulnerability management: regular patching and anti-malware.
- Implement strong access controls: unique IDs, MFA, and role-based restrictions.
- Monitor and test networks: logging, monitoring, and penetration testing.
- Maintain an information security policy: governance and regular review.
- Enforcement and penalties: fines from $5,000 to $100,000 per month for non-compliance, plus possible suspension of card processing.
Impact on SecOps
SecOps teams are directly responsible for ensuring PCI DSS compliance:
- Continuous monitoring: SOCs must ensure logs capture all payment-related activity.
- Vulnerability management: rapid patching is required to reduce exposure.
- Penetration testing: routine testing validates controls and resilience.
- Access management: privileged accounts must be tightly controlled.
- Incident response: specific plans for payment data breaches must be documented and tested.
PCI DSS compliance is not optional in the payment industry; it is foundational to maintaining trust and avoiding costly penalties.
Further reading
- PCI SSC: PCI DSS standard. Read more
- Visa: PCI compliance programs. Read more
- Mastercard: PCI DSS requirements. Read more
- NIST: Payment security insights. Read more