What is PCI Compliance? Data Security for the Payment Card Industry

PCI compliance is a must for any business that handles credit card payments. It’s a set of standards designed to protect cardholder data and applies to all organizations that process, store, or transmit credit card information. So, regardless of whether you’re an enterprise or a startup, if you handle payment card transactions, PCI compliance is a requirement.

Noncompliance can leave your business vulnerable to data breaches, which can lead to significant financial losses, including fines of up to $100,000 per month until the issue is resolved and potentially irreparable reputational damage. These penalties emphasize the importance of not only understanding PCI compliance but also implementing it in your business operations.

What is PCI Compliance?

PCI compliance refers to the standards set by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). It’s a globally recognized framework that organizations need to follow to ensure that they securely handle credit card data.

The PCI Security Standards Council, which includes major card brands like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, developed these standards with the goal of protecting cardholder data from security breaches and fraud.

These standards apply to all businesses that accept, store, or process payment card information. Failure to comply with PCI standards can lead to serious consequences, including steep fines, loss of payment processing privileges, and even irreparable reputational damage.

What is PCI DSS Compliance?

PCI Compliance and PCI DSS Compliance are one and the same—the former is simply the shortened version of the latter. They refer to the same set of standards set by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) for all organizations that handle credit card data.

What Are the PCI Compliance Requirements?

There are 12 core requirements in the PCI DSS, all grouped into six broad categories. These guidelines cover everything from securing your network to ensuring you’re monitoring and testing your systems regularly. These standards and guidelines include:

1. Build and Maintain a Secure Network and Systems

This category focuses on creating a secure environment for processing payment card information. It includes two standards.

The first is to install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data. The firewall serves as a barrier between your internal network and external threats. To allow authorized traffic while blocking potentially malicious access, it needs to be properly configured and maintained.

The second is to avoid using vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters. Doing so can leave systems vulnerable to attacks, so it’s important to always change default credentials and configure security settings to match industry best practices.

2. Protect Cardholder Data

The cardholder data category encompasses how businesses should handle sensitive payment card information.

First and foremost, that involves protecting stored cardholder data. Businesses must minimize the storage of cardholder data, ensuring it’s securely encrypted if it must be retained. Storing sensitive information, like the card’s full number (PAN), should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

Additionally, businesses must encrypt the transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks. Whenever that information is sent over the internet or any open network, encryption is a must to prevent unauthorized interception.

3. Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program

Any vulnerabilities in your systems can be an open door for hackers, giving them a soft spot to exploit in order to gain unauthorized access. This section of these standards and guidelines focuses on finding and fixing those vulnerabilities through two methods.

First, protect all systems against malware and regularly update antivirus software or programs. Doing so helps protect the systems from malware that could compromise cardholder data.

In addition, develop and maintain secure systems and applications by patching and updating both regularly. This helps address newly discovered vulnerabilities, ensuring those soft points aren’t left unaddressed for indefinite periods.

4. Implement Strong Access Control Measures

Access controls are a huge part of protecting data. These guidelines set the foundation for security by limiting who can access cardholder data. Sensitive information should only be granted by businesses that need to know. Any unnecessary access can be a point of weakness.

Identifying and authenticating access to system components is another piece of this puzzle. Every person with access to your systems must have a unique ID and strong authentication measures to ensure you can verify who accesses the data and when.

Digital security is a must, but so is physical security. Limiting access should also apply to systems or environments where cardholder data is processed or stored, just like with a digital environment.

5. Regularly Monitor and Test Networks

Ongoing monitoring is integral to identifying potential security issues before they snowball into bigger vulnerabilities. This involves tracking and monitoring all access to network resources and cardholder data. Your system should log and track all activities related to this data, ensuring you can follow an audit trail in the event of a security breach.

It also involves routine security system and process tests. Vulnerability scans, penetration tests, and security audits help verify the security and compliance of your network, thus boosting overall data security.

6. Maintain an Information Security Policy

The last broad category encompasses the need for a comprehensive information security policy. Businesses should maintain a policy that addresses information security for all personnel. Every employee should be familiar with the protocols in place to protect cardholder data.

To ensure this, you need to have a clearly defined security policy, conduct regular training sessions, and confirm that security practices are followed throughout the organization.

How to Become PCI Compliant

Achieving PCI compliance is more than a one-and-done effort. Instead, it requires ongoing monitoring and updates to your systems to ensure they meet the ever-evolving standards. Unfortunately, the constant changes can feel like a lot, especially for small and medium-sized businesses that may not have the extra staff to devote to maintaining PCI compliance.

That’s where a managed IT support provider comes in. At Infiniwiz, we can help you navigate the complexities of PCI compliance, from securing your network to implementing robust data protection measures. With our help, you don’t need to worry about adding unnecessary complexity to your daily operations. Instead, we’ll guide you through every step, ensuring you can maintain compliance without diverting your attention from your core operations.

Stay Secure and PCI Compliant With Infiniwiz

PCI compliance isn’t just a requirement—it’s a smart business move. In ensuring compliance and securing cardholder data, you protect your business from breaches, fines, and loss of customer trust. It’s a must for any business that handles cardholder data, whether you’re big or small.

If you’re unsure where to start or need help maintaining compliance, our team at Infiniwiz is here to help. Our IT security experts can offer the guidance and support you need to protect your business and customers. Contact us today to learn more about our network security services.