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As contactless and mobile payment tools become the norm, vendors who store and accept payment data are under an increased risk surrounding payment card and cardholder data. Now comes the big question - how can you implement best card information security in the face of threats, attacks, and vulnerabilities associated with cybersecurity? What would be the best course of action if things go horribly wrong? This is where PCI DSS Compliance Audit steps in.

What is PCI DSS?

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) can be described as a comprehensive set of procedures and policies intended to significantly optimize the security aspect of debit, credit, and cash card transactions. The entire concept of PCI DSS Compliance was designed to prevent any incidence of cybersecurity breaches of sensitive data while mitigating the risks of fraud and theft for organizations that handle payment card information. The success of PCI DSS depends on the ongoing collaboration between acquirers, merchants, service providers, issuers, and other providers.

In 2004, PCI DSS was created by five prominent credit card companies: Visa, Mastercard, Discover, JCB, and American Express. PCI DSS is not a law, but the security standard does have a significant impact on the law. In fact, PCI DSS plays an important role in defining some best practice security controls around the cardholder data environment (CDE).

Under PCI DSS, all service providers and merchants that transmit, process, or store cardholder data are required to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

• Service Providers are involved directly in storing, processing, or transmitting cardholder data on behalf of a different entity.
• Merchants (including those who have subcontracted their payment card processing to a third party) accept credit or debit card payments for goods and/or services.

Benefits Of PCI DSS Compliance

PCI DSS compliance offers many benefits, including but not limited to:

• Enhanced customer trust: One of the biggest advantages of PCI DSS compliance is that it ensures the security of cardholder data. This, in turn, helps businesses create and maintain trust with their customers. PCI DSS compliance can lead to repeat business, increased cross-sells and upsells, and increased customer & brand loyalty.
• Fraud protection: PCI DSS guidelines go a long way in proactively detecting and preventing fraud to minimize the risk of financial loss associated with data loss, identity theft, and compromised data.
• Compliance with industry standards: PCI DSS Compliance demonstrates a commitment to best practices of the industry. This improves the standing and reputation of organizations with their regulators, partners, and other stakeholders.
• Minimized risk of data breaches: The data protection procedures and security controls of PCI DSS significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and the associated costs, such as reputational damage, fines, and legal fees.

PCI DSS Compliance Levels

PCI DSS compliance requirements are divided into different merchant levels based on the volume of debit or credit card transactions processed by an organization annually (for both brick-and-mortar and eCommerce transactions):

• Level 1 includes organizations that deal with more than 6 million card transactions a year. They are required to clear a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) assessment each year. Furthermore, level 1 organizations need to have an Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV) perform a quarterly network visibility scan.
• Level 2 includes organizations that deal with 1-6 million card transactions annually. These organizations are required to complete an annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) and may be asked to submit quarterly ASV network vulnerability scans.
• Level 3 includes organizations that handle more than 20,000 annual transactions up to $1million. These organizations are required to complete an annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) and may be asked to submit quarterly ASV network vulnerability scans.
• Level 4 includes organizations that handle less than 20,000 card transactions annually. These organizations are required to complete an annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) and may be asked to submit quarterly ASV network vulnerability scans.

How to assess the security of your cardholder data?

A three-step process is usually undertaken by many organizations to achieve PCI DSS compliance:

• PCI DSS Gap Analysis: Usually, PCI DSS Gap Analysis is the first step to carefully understand the compliance status of an organization. It compares the Standard's requirements with the current arrangements of an organization. This helps in identifying compliance gaps (if any) and formulating a prioritized plan to achieve full PCI DSS Compliance. 
• PCI DSS Remediation: The second step is all about actioning the plan based on the PCI DSS Gap Analysis to minimize the scope of the project where possible and close remaining compliance gaps (if any).
• PCI DSS Audit: Once the action plan has been successfully implemented, an assessor will review the CDE and control to make sure and record proof that the organization is now PCI DSS compliant.

How to become PCI DSS Compliant?

Service providers and merchants can prove they meet the stringent requirements of PCI DSS by performing an audit of their cardholder data environment against the applicable requirements of the Standard.

The different types of PCI DSS Compliance Audit are:

• An external vulnerability scan performed by an Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV).
• A self-assessment questionnaire signed by an authorized officer of the organization.
• A Report on compliance (RoC) completed by a Payment Card Industry Qualified Security Assessor organization such as IT Governance or by an Internal Security Assessor (ISA)

Risks of non-compliance to PCI DSS regulations

The failure to comply with PCI DSS regulations can put your customers and your business at risk. Your business and customers are left vulnerable to data breaches, identity theft, and data loss. This can also mean reputational damage for your business beside loss of profits and goodwill. 

Additionally, if you are a victim of a data breach and not PCI compliant, you can be fined $5,000-$50,000. Furthermore, you run the risk of getting placed in the Visa/Mastercard Terminated Merchant File that can make you ineligible to receive another virtual point of sale (POS) for years to come, or you can lose the entire virtual POS.

Need help with PCI DSS Compliance Audit? Please feel free to reach us at ITIO Innovex, and our team of industry experts will be happy to assist you.