As a consumer, I feel more confident about using my credit card online and in brick-and-mortar stores when I know retailers are being careful about PCI DSS compliance. Breached financial credentials can wreak havoc not only on the lives of consumers, but also on the well-being of merchant businesses. I think the PCI DSS is an excellent example of how security standards can be improved when organizations cooperate and collaborate.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) defines the framework for protecting cardholder data. The framework was developed by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) and enables organizations to assess how well they are protecting cardholder data, training staff, and conducting PCI DSS audits. PCI compliance and accepting credit cards go hand in hand.

Organizations cannot afford to neglect their PCI compliance obligations. According to its website, PCI could punish offending organizations with a monetary penalty ranging in value from $5,000 to $100,000 per month. These fines could spell the end for a small business. Acknowledging those consequences, organizations need to make sure they’re PCI compliant. More than that, they must ensure they’re prepared for when auditors come knocking on their door.

Let’s begin with a short story. Imagine that we have two large organizations in the public sector. These entities are very similar. Both are on the receiving end of cyber threats. Both adhere to multiple compliance standards. And both need to ensure that their IT systems are functioning and working as planned. But they’re not entirely the same. Take Organization A, for example.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) represents an information security standard designed for organizations that store, process, or transmit credit cards and are exposed to cardholder data. The card brands themselves have advocated for the PCI standard which is administered by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). Given organizations are interested in compliance, many ask the question “what are the PCI DSS Security Audit Procedures”?

In this blog, we will cover the various requirements you need to meet to achieve PCI compliance, as well as how Sysdig Secure can help you continuously validate PCI compliance for containers and Kubernetes. Learn how to meet PCI Compliance Requirements for Container and Kubernetes Environments!

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) does a great job of outlining how an organization should go about protecting cardholder data. Most organizations take the best practices from the PCI council and implement a strong information security strategy bent on enforcing PCI standards, compliance requirements, and vulnerability management. What happens when an organization doesn’t follow the rules as they should or they suffer a data breach because of negligence?

Congratulations, you have achieved PCI compliance! Now comes the hard part, staying compliant. Remember, it was a great deal of work to get your environment where it needed to be for the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Organizations spend a fair amount of money getting systems, networks, and people exactly where they need to be for cardholder data protection.