You may be shocked to learn that only 28% of organizations were PCI DSS compliant just three years ago. Moreover, the share of those who comply steadily declined year by year. Given that data breaches increased by 68% in 2021 , these numbers are quite disturbing.
That's why we want to stress again how crucial the PCI DSS standard is for processing credit card data securely. As of now, it's the only reliable way to protect users and build a robust payment infrastructure.
What are the six PCI DSS compliance goals, and how do you meet them? Read this article for tips.
What is PCI DSS?
PCI DSS (The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a data security standard regulating business entities and organizations that support credit cards from the major card schemes. It is administered by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council and specifies twelve requirements organized into six groups.
PCI DSS compliance objective is to ensure credit card information is safe across a broad range of processes, from data collection to storage. All companies that handle credit card info must comply with this standard to prevent data breaches.
6 PCI DSS compliance goals and related requirements
Overall, there are six goals for twelve requirements listed by the IT governance EU . Here is the table that should help you understand what are the 6 PCI DSS compliance goals:
Goals | Requirements |
Build and maintain a secure network | 1. Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data 2. Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters |
Protect cardholder data | 3. Protect stored cardholder data 4. Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks |
Maintain a vulnerability management program | 5. Use and regularly update antivirus software or programs 6. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications |
Implement strong access control measures | 7. Restrict access to cardholder data by business need to know 8. Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access 9. Restrict physical access to cardholder data |
Regularly monitor and test networks | 10. Track and monitor all access points to network resources and cardholder data 11. Regularly test security systems and processes |
Maintain an information security policy | 12. Maintain a policy that addresses information security for all personnel |
Once you implement these demands , you may be sure your payment card management is highly secure and free of vulnerabilities. Let's discuss them in more detail below.
#1. Build and maintain a secure network
Since attackers frequently obtain access to sensitive financial information through networks, you need to eliminate their weaknesses. Install and maintain security software, anti-virus solutions, and firewalls. A firewall checks network traffic to block suspicious users and allow regular ones. You must also update firewall configuration rules every six months for optimum performance.
Besides firewall configuration, avoid using default credentials in internal and wireless networks to ensure information security.
#2. Protect cardholder data
To meet this PCI DSS compliance objective, your organization has to do several things:
- Stop storing cardholder data unless it's critical for legal, business, or regulatory needs.
- Never keep sensitive authentication data, including PIN, CVV, and EMV numbers.
- Encrypt personal details like cardholders' names, PAN numbers, and expiration dates for storage and use encryption for cardholder data transmission.
#3. Maintain a vulnerability management program
The third goal is easy to meet through antivirus software and risk prevention measures. You must install and maintain an antivirus solution to regularly audit your system. Moreover, only authorized administrators must be entitled to turn it off. You also must quickly address newly found vulnerabilities to identify the severity of the risk and eliminate them accordingly.
#4. Implement strong access control measures
In short, you need to guarantee that only authorized people can access personal information physically and electronically. To do this, always provide users with the minimum details they need to perform their tasks through role-based access. Also, implement multi-factor authentication and restrict physical access to data storage if you keep it locally.
#5. Regularly monitor and test networks
Regular testing helps organizations detect weaknesses early to fix them before they lead to data breaches. Apart from testing, you must also implement system logging and back up the logs to the centralized servers. This step will allow you to track abnormalities and see attempts to edit information.
#6. Maintain an information security policy
Your organization must develop a policy that specifies the security procedures it uses. The policy must indicate data processing practices and how to behave in case of data leakage. It documents your data security approaches, helping you to prove that you meet PCI DSS compliance goals. Meeting this requirement is essential to implement all the previous steps and have a single information security system.
Consider Binariks as your trusted partner for reaching PCI compliance
There is a lot of work and advanced technology solutions behind each of these steps. If you have a legacy system, you may need profound changes to make it compliant.
Binariks fintech development outsourcing company can help you with the tech challenges you will inevitably face. Financial software development services are one of the top domains we specialize in, so we know how to meet PCI DSS requirements. Binariks is also proficient in EMV 3-D Secure, P2PE encryption, and other standards regulating the fintech industry.
We have expertise with solutions of any scale and complexity, from cloud development services to IoT. Learn more about our projects and contact us to discuss yours.
