Network Assured exists so that businesses and cybersecurity vendors might understand each other better.
Through their website, Network Assured provides valuable and un-biased information on cybersecurity trends to connect customers with the most appropriate cybersecurity vendors for their needs.
Maven X was contracted by Network Assured to write several PCI Blog Posts to help provide valuable PCI guidance to companies needing advice, tips/tricks, and general help with getting or staying PCI compliant.
With Maven X’s professional PCI consultants through Maven Cyber, Maven X wrote multiple detailed blog posts for Network Assured’s Blog.
A PCI Gap Assessment can be a valuable resource for your organization as you first begin your journey on PCI (before your first assessment) or while transitioning between PCI DSS versions (from version 3.2.1 to 4.0). The PCI Gap Assessment will help you understand where you are and tell you where you need to go. So why would you want to have a PCI Gap Assessment compared to just doing an assessment?
If you are a small or medium-sized business, you are most likely applicable to a PCI Self-Assessment Questionnaire (PCI SAQ). SAQs are a slimmed-down version of the PCI Report on Compliance (ROC). Depending on your PCI Level, which is determined by the number of transactions you process on an annual basis, a SAQ may be suitable for you. As the name suggests, SAQs allow you to fill out your own report.
There are two kinds of PCI assessors: Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) and Internal Security Assessors (ISAs). This article will focus on the former.
QSAs are certified by the PCI Security Standards Council (SSC) to perform PCI assessments for other companies through consulting. A QSA has not only the knowledge to perform PCI assessments, but also the ability to sign a Report on Compliance (ROC).
Attaining PCI certification for an organization, for the first time, is not a small undertaking, whatever path you take. But PCI compliance is one of the most impactful things you can do to better protect your card data and ultimately your business. PCI compliance helps you to secure your environment, benchmark standards, and serves as a reputation booster to say, “We are a reliable partner.”
PCI DSS 4.0 is the latest release of the PCI Data Security Standards since Version 3.2.1 on May 17, 2018. Version 4.0 was released in Q2 of 2022 and has been updated to continue the effort and focus around securing cardholder data and the current (and future) state of the payment industry, while also promoting security and PCI as a continuous process.
The PCI Data Security Standards were recently updated to version 4.0. PCI DSS v4.0 was officially released on March 31st, 2022 and is replacing PCI DSS v3.2.1. This update to the PCI DSS is the first significant update to the security standards since 2018. Some evolving requirements include new or modified requirements added to the PCI DSS to ensure the standard is up to date with emerging threats and technologies as well as changes to the payment industry, related to the security awareness training requirements.
Some of these changes require that information specific to the security of the cardholder data environment (CDE) be included in the security awareness training, which wasn’t required previously. There is now a stronger emphasis on training employees on PCI, security of the CDE, and security around cardholder data. So will your current training meet these evolving requirements to keep you compliant?
It’s common for companies with gaps in their PCI DSS compliance to wonder “How bad could it really be?” Knowing the possible extent of fines for non-compliance and being able to put dollar values on the risk, can help convince board members or executives to allocate the appropriate budget to your firm’s PCI compliance efforts.
To that end, this article is a guide to the possible PCI compliance fines, including case studies of real-world fines, and, most importantly, guidance on how to avoid PCI fines altogether.
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