What Are PCI Compliance Services?

PCI compliance services are a series of security tools that help merchants meet the requirements of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

PCI compliance services internationally recognised security standards designed to protect cardholder data. It defines 12 requirements, testing procedures for each requirement, and guidance on best practices.

Security Assessments

Security assessments are a way to evaluate your company’s security posture. They can help you identify areas where you need to make changes or implement new controls.

A security assessment can be performed by a professional services firm or an in-house IT team. Generally, a security assessment will include a review of your company’s IT infrastructure and communications pathways, as well as misconfiguration issues that can leave you vulnerable to attack.

In addition, security assessments will consider the ease of access to data and whether your applications conform to security-by-design and privacy-by-design principles. These assessments will also identify where you should apply new security controls to limit access on an as needed basis.

Audits

Audits are the process of evaluating an organization’s compliance with the PCI Data Security Standards (DSS). This can include audits by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), internal audits or self-audits.

The DSS is a set of requirements for merchants and service providers to demonstrate that they protect cardholder data. Businesses that fail to comply may face fines, card replacement costs or costly forensic audits.

While an audit should not be viewed as a pass/fail test, it can be used as a learning opportunity to identify areas where improvements can be made.

Training

A training course is a good way to educate your employees about the risks of mishandling credit card data. It can also help them understand how to raise a red flag when they see something suspicious.

The PCI Security Standards Council requires that all companies that process, transmit, or store credit card data are fully compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). They offer foundation and implementation courses to give you the knowledge you need to achieve compliance.

Monitoring

Monitoring is a process to collect, analyse and use information to actively manage performance and maximise positive impacts. It is usually used at levels beyond an individual project, for example at program, organisation, sector or country level.

A key distinction between monitoring and discrete evaluation is that monitoring involves working systematically, to include deliberate and ongoing reflection as it helps inform implementation decisions. It often operates across systems and levels and may involve different understandings, cultures and timeframes.