PCI DSS Compliance
Companies that receive customer information through the use of credit and debit cards must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, better known as PCI DSS.
The benefits of correctly complying with this computer security standard are diverse and, thanks to the approach that the Security Standards Council has applied to it, they are also neutral in the sense that PCI DSS is designed to be able to provide security in any type of technology.
For this reason, in each update, such as PCI DSS 4.0, new tools are added to increase flexibility and improve the security of sensitive data of cardholders. Next, we will see some of the benefits that companies can obtain by complying with this standard and with other relevant characteristics.
Remote Work
After the Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses have given a try to remote work, in hybrid or fully remote schemes. Although this type of work has benefits, it is also true that it places workers of any business in a position of greater vulnerability to attacks that seek to steal sensitive and/or confidential company data.
For this reason, when work is carried out from remote environments, technology must guarantee that the work is safe for the cardholders’ data.
We must keep in mind that a company’s personnel can be one of the first vulnerabilities in a business. Although, with training and knowledge of security policies, the staff can become a solid defense.
For these cases, PCI DSS has various requirements in order to remote work be safe, such as:
- Multi-factor authentication
- Use of strong and unique passwords
- Updated systems, with anti-malware and firewall protection
- Access controls
- Encrypted and secure communications
Protection for Businesses of All Sizes
PCI DSS includes different requirements of businesses, depending on the number of transactions carried out per year. These are known as levels, and we can divide them as follows:
PCI DSS Levels | Number of Transactions per Year |
Level 1 | 6 million or more transactions |
Level 2 | Between 1 million and 6 million transactions |
Level 3 | Between 20 thousand and 1 million transactions |
Level 4 | Less than 20 thousand transactions |
*Information from itgovernance.eu
This means that a business that carries out only 20,000 transactions per year must meet certain standards in its processes, in terms of the operational risk and of information security. For example, the installation of a firewall to protect cardholders’ data, encryption in data transmission, software or antivirus updates, access restrictions according to each company, and more.
In short, the more transactions an organization carries out, the more requirements if must fulfill.
Security
Applying PCI DSS makes it possible to reduce the possibility of threats such as skimming, which is one of the risks faced by digital and brick-and-mortar commerce.
Skimming consists of infecting websites with viruses to compromise the information of credit and debit card holders. This theft of information occurs without being perceptible to the user and is also carried out physically at points of sale, with technology that extracts the data from the card’s magnetic stripe.
For this reason, complying with PCI DSS helps to guarantee data security, since it seeks to establish well-designed and correctly executed procedures, in addition to having the necessary infrastructure in terms of cybersecurity, such as specialized equipment to maintain the security and integrity of cardholders’ data.
At Mazars, we offer PCI compliance services and advise on the appropriate processes, their design and execution, as well as the cybersecurity infrastructure. Contact us and a specialized team will be able to advise you on the benefits of your business.
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