In today’s digital era, financial transactions are carried out using cards daily. It is of utmost importance for banks to ensure the safety and security of the cardholders’ data. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance 4.0 offers essential guidelines and a framework to safeguard cardholders’ data and mitigate any potential data breaches that may occur in banks.
In this blog, we will understand PCI DSS compliance 4.0 for banks, its requirements, and the role of PSI QSAs and PSI SAQs in this process.
What is PCI DSS Compliance for banks?
PCI DSS was founded in 2004 by the five major American card companies to ensure the security of credit, debit, and cash card transactions and protect cardholders against misuse during its storage, process, and transmission. The banks are:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Discover
- JCB
- American Express
What are the PCI DSS requirements?
The PCI DSS outlines 12 requirements mentioned below. These requirements apply to any organization that processes, stores or transmits credit card information.
- Installing and maintaining a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data.
- Refrain from using vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters.
- Protecting stored cardholders’ data.
- Encryption of cardholder’s data across all networks.
- Protecting all systems against malware and regularly updating antivirus software or programs.
- Developing and maintaining secure systems and applications.
- Restricting access to cardholder data by businesses on a need-to-know basis.
- Providing each person with computer access that has a unique login access.
- Restricting physical access to cardholders’ data.
- Tracking and monitoring all access to network resources and cardholders’ data.
- Regularly testing security systems and processes.
- Creating and maintaining a policy that addresses information security for all personnel.
How PCI DSS requirements affect the banking industry?
PCI DSS provides a set of security standards designed to ensure that all companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. The requirements affect areas such as data security, compliance costs, customer trust, penalties, interoperability between banks and risk management.
What happens if the PCI DSS requirements are not followed?
Depending on the size of the merchant and service provider’s business and the degree of noncompliance, fines between $5,000 to $100,000 per month will be imposed. Fines levied may also be revised over time and further increase until the merchant is deemed compliant. If the merchant is still not compliant, its power to take credit cards may eventually be revoked.
How can banks comply with the PCI DSS requirements?
Compliance with PCI DSS requirements is typically validated through assessments and audits conducted by Payment Card Industry qualified security assessors (PCI QSAs) or Payment Card Industry self-assessment questionnaires (PCI SAQs) depending on the merchant level and the volume of card transactions processed.
Conclusion:
PCI DSS Compliance is essential for banks to ensure that the customers’ data is secure and is prepared to handle any data breaches. Compliance requires ongoing effort and investment in security measures, but the benefits of protecting sensitive financial information outweigh the costs.
PCI DSS Compliance solutions for banks with VISTA InfoSec
Navigating PCI DSS compliance can be a hectic task, but we can help simplify the process with our team who are PCI DSS 4.0 certified and provide the right advice to define processes and achieve compliance as per your business needs.
Our vendor neutral and strict no-outsourcing policy can also assist you with the technical assessments needed for PCI DSS Compliance – Vulnerability Assessment, Penetration Testing, Network Segmentation Testing, Network Architecture Review, Firewall Assessment, Secure Configuration Assessment, Web and Mobile Application Security Assessment, and Secure Code Review.
