Pci Compliance Audit
Compliance with the PCI standard is good business practice, as it puts the security of consumer data first and benefits a company through a positive brand reputation. All companies that process credit card data must be PCI compliant, as stated in their card processing agreements. PCI compliance is the industry standard, and companies that fail to comply face significant fines if they do not. Without PCI compliance, companies are also highly vulnerable to theft, fraud and data breaches. PCI DSS was created in 2006 by a panel of major card brands and is a key component of retail data security compliance programs.
Target’s 2013 data breach was due to hackers gaining access to point-of-sale payment card readers through a third-party HVAC vendor. Physical access to cardholder data or systems, including electronic or paper media, should be reasonably limited to those individuals who need such access as part of their job to limit unauthorized access or deletion of data. This also applies to access by contractors, consultants, and other vendors or guests.
If new systems or new business processes are introduced in your organization for any reason, they should be included in regular vulnerability scans. Whether you perform your scans quarterly, semi-annually or annually, it is critical that you scan all existing assets at the time of the scan. For example, if you bring in a new third-party payment processor and don’t scan it for vulnerabilities, you risk non-compliance. PCI DSS 4.0 is the latest version, introduced by the PCI Council on March 31, 2022.
It is administered by the PCI Security Standards Council, which was formed by American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc. The PCI DSS applies to organizations that store, process or transmit cardholder data or sensitive authentication data. This includes merchants, processors, PCI DSS v4.0 acquirers, issuers and service providers, among others. The PCI DSS is mandated by card manufacturers and administered by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. Your PCI compliance history may be affected by changes in management or personnel, such as mergers and acquisitions of financial institutions.
Conduct your own audit to identify cardholder data for which you are responsible, inventory your payment card processing IT assets and business processes, and analyze them for vulnerabilities that could expose sensitive cardholder data. PCI compliance refers to the technical and operational standards set by the PCI Security Standards Council that organizations must implement and adhere to. The goal of PCI compliance is to protect cardholder data and applies to any organization that accepts, transmits or stores such data.