Introduction
Maintaining PCI DSS Compliance can be extremely challenging. This is mainly because organizations are expected to meet extensive security requirements outlined by the PCI Council. Further, achieving PCI DSS Compliance is not just a one-time process, but an ongoing programme that organizations must continue achieving to stay compliant. So, when it comes to maintaining compliance, especially for organizations with limited resources struggle to remain compliant. However, as experts of the industry we believe if your business takes the right approach towards the PCI compliance program, you are sure to be able to achieve and improve compliance with PCI DSS. On that note, we are today recommending five key approaches to ensure effective PCI compliance.
Tips to Improve PCI Compliance
Stay updated with PCI Requirements
We strongly recommend your organization to be vigilant of the latest updates often announced by the PCI Council. The PCI Council always aims at improving the security measures to deal with the evolving threat landscape. So, they often come up with updates pertaining to PCI Compliance. Your organization must be aware of these updates from time to time to ensure your compliance program is in alignment with the latest requirements. So, for instance, PCI DSS 4.0 will be the latest version going effective by 2022. So, organizations must be updated on the new requirements in the latest version and ensure working towards compliance with PCI DSS 4.0. One of the finest source of information is the extremely informative FAQ section on the PCI Council website: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/faqs
Build a Sustainable Security & Compliance Program
Your organization must develop a sustainable security and compliance program to ensure its effectiveness on an ongoing basis. For this, your organization should understand the primary objective of the compliance program which is to protect the cardholder data. So, for this, you must develop security measures, policies, and processes that ensure the continued protection of the cardholder data. Only by the means of building a sustainable security program and ensuring its effectiveness can ensure your organization is compliant on an ongoing basis. To facilitate ongoing and sustainable compliance with PCI DSS, you must implement a compliance program that is backed with appropriate policies, procedures, and processes to ensure the effectiveness of the security measures.
Conduct Regularly Security Test
PCI Compliance should not be seen as a one-time assessment and certification process. As mentioned earlier it is a continuous process, wherein the organization should meet the requirements constantly to maintain compliance year on year. So, your organization must embed processes and security measures in the day-to-day operations and work culture. Moreover, we are living in a digital era that constantly evolves and poses new challenges, threats, and vulnerabilities regularly. So, it is essential that your organization performs security tests regularly to ensure the security of your IT Infrastructure that holds sensitive cardholder data. A security lapse, flaws in software, misconfiguration of security, and human error are some of the possibilities that can result in data breaches. So, it is highly recommended that you constantly assess, and remediate identified threats and ensure compliance with PCI requirements.
Develop Performance Metrics
The security measures, policies, and procedures implemented should be effective and so your organization should develop performance metrics. PCI Council suggests organizations should be able to quantify their performance and prove their capability to sustain security practices and ensure ongoing PCI DSS compliance. This can be achieved by developing performance metrics that describe and detail the performance of the implemented security controls and compliance program. Based on the metrics report, your organization and works towards improvement and accordingly allocate resources for addressing the gaps. The best way to develop such metrics is by understanding organisation, client and stakeholder expectations.
On-Going Compliance Program
You must understand and see the PCI DSS compliance as an ongoing program and a continuous process. So, with that, you also need to ensure that the compliance program evolves to accommodate the constant change in the environment. This will ensure continued security against new emerging threats. The entire essence of the PCI programme is that many sections of the standard enforces ongoing compliance such as implementing critical patches within one moth of release, quarterly ASV cycles within 90 days of the last cycle, daily log review, quarterly VA process, etc. For maintaining such a state of continuous compliance your organization requires constant and focused efforts.
Conclusion
The PCI DSS requirements are clearly outlined by the PCI Council. However, your organization needs to interpret the requirements right and see the larger picture in the right context to accommodate the requirements of compliance. Besides, following the above-mentioned best practices and basic principles, your organization should also work constantly reviewing your programs regularly to achieve and maintain compliance. This provides a roadmap to address risk-based on priority and ensure a high level of due diligence in securing cardholder data while also constantly ensuring compliance. Apart from that, we further recommend you keep up-to-date with the requirements and adopt a phased approach to address the gaps and maintain compliance. Having a structured and prioritized approach will facilitate your organization in maintaining compliance even in the long run. We would also recommend considering a consultation with a trusted advisor and auditor for assistance in maintaining compliance in the long run.
