Drive PCI-DSS sensitive data compliance

Sep 20, 2023

Drive PCI-DSS sensitive data compliance

PCI-DSS Overview

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It is a set of security standards designed to ensure that all companies that accept, process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. These standards apply to any organization, regardless of size or type, that accepts, processes, stores or transmits credit card information. The goal of PCI DSS is to protect sensitive information from being stolen by hackers and to prevent credit card fraud.

Businesses impacted

Businesses that accept credit card payments are required to comply with PCI DSS standards. Failure to comply with these standards can result in fines, penalties, and other consequences from the credit card companies, such as the loss of the ability to accept credit card payments.

Additionally, if businesses experience a data breach and it is found that they were not in compliance with PCI DSS standards, they may face legal action and damage to their reputation.

Therefore, it is important for businesses to understand and comply with PCI DSS standards to protect themselves and their customers.

Data types covered

PCI DSS covers all data associated with credit card transactions, including the cardholder’s name, account number, expiration date, and security code. It also covers any data that is stored, processed, or transmitted as part of a credit card transaction, such as transaction details and receipts.

In general, PCI DSS applies to any data that could be used to commit credit card fraud.

Compliance requirements

PCI DSS has six main requirements, known as the “Six Goals of PCI DSS,” that organizations must comply with in order to be considered compliant. These are:

Build and maintain a secure network: This includes installing and maintaining a firewall to protect cardholder data, and implementing secure access controls to prevent unauthorized access to data.
Protect cardholder data: This includes protecting sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, from being accessed or stolen by unauthorized individuals.
Maintain a vulnerability management program: This includes regularly identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in the system, such as software flaws or security holes, to prevent them from being exploited by attackers.
Implement strong access control measures: This includes limiting access to cardholder data to only those individuals who need it to perform their job duties, and regularly monitoring and tracking access to data.
Regularly monitor and test networks: This includes regularly testing the security of the network and systems, and monitoring for any suspicious activity that could indicate a potential breach.
Maintain an information security policy: This includes developing and maintaining an information security policy that outlines the steps the organization will take to protect cardholder data and ensure compliance with PCI DSS.

Organizations must also undergo periodic assessments to verify that they are complying with PCI DSS requirements, and must provide evidence of compliance to the credit card companies.

Enforcement and penalties

If an organization is found to be non-compliant with PCI DSS requirements, it may face a range of consequences, depending on the severity of the non-compliance and the number of violations. Penalties may include fines, suspension of the ability to process credit card payments, and legal action. In some cases, credit card companies may also require the organization to engage a third-party security firm to assess and address any security weaknesses in their systems.

Enforcement of PCI DSS is typically carried out by the credit card companies themselves, as well as by third-party assessors who are certified by the PCI Security Standards Council. These entities will conduct periodic assessments of organizations to ensure that they are complying with PCI DSS requirements, and will take appropriate action if non-compliance is found.

Monitor sensitive data risk around the clock and receive alerts the instant risky accumulation, deletion or exfiltration occurs. If an incident occurs, use keyword search to look up a specific data element and track the full data lineage, including the exact location where the data got out of an environment, where it ended up – every touch point in between.

Qohash provides a complete inventory of sensitive, unstructured data at-rest. Qohash discovers sensitive data 50x faster than alternatives, across any data source, in any location. Qohash provides labeling, classification, custom RegEx and keyword searches, plus ranked and contextualized risk.

Run keyword searches by name, date, credit card number and more to find all copies of sensitive data across business systems. See which categories of sensitive data are stored on business systems. See how specific data elements moved across employees and locations. Delete data directly within the platform to show compliance with data deletion requests in any location – including endpoints.

A foundational step in conducting a risk assessment, Qohash provides an inventory of regulated data across every data source. It provides access control lists for evaluation as to whether those with access have a legitimate business need for it. Gain insight into all sensitive data critical exposure points. See how much sensitive data is on business systems and who has access to it. Put policies in place, configure risk levels appropriate to the business, and receive notifications the instant policy violations occur.

Qohash provides auditors with evidence that sensitive data is monitored and cross-referenced to employee interactions, enabling in-the-moment policy enforcement. Qohash looks into files to track data elements. It monitors those elements and cross-references them to employees and locations. Know the instant an employee has a risky interaction with sensitive data. Trace the lineage of any data element that moves onto workstations, for faster remediation.

Quickly create an access control list of all regulated data. Provide evidence of restrictions and show regular evaluation of whether those with access have a legitimate business need for it.