PCI compliance is a necessity for any business that uses online payment technology. Proper compliance can enhance customer confidence and can ensure the safety of your operations.
What is PCI Compliance?
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of standards that ensures a high level of security for credit, debit, and cash card information. It is up to the payment brands and acquirers to stay responsible for their own PCI compliance.
The PCI DSS provides standards and supporting materials to help organizations ensure the security of cardholder information at all times. Some resources they supply are self-assessment questionnaires, lists of qualified security assessors, approved scanning vendors, and lists of devices that are PIN approved.
Why PCI Compliance is Important
It is easy for customers to realize when their information becomes compromised, which can hurt the customer relationship with your business. Investing in PCI compliance will offer your customers data security that they will appreciate. This will build customer confidence in your brand and increase customer retention. Being PCI compliant will also improve the reputation of your business and develop mutual trust with your customers and stakeholders.
PCI compliance can be preventative in many ways. It can prevent widespread security breaches that can compromise sensitive company data. It also can prevent lawsuits, insurance claims, government fines, and other tolling activities for your business. All business owners should prioritize PCI compliance before conducting transactions for the safety of important company data and customer card information.
How To Improve PCI Compliance
The PCI DSS has a list of requirements for users to abide by, the first being the use and maintenance of firewalls. A firewall is a security network that monitors and filters traffic between private internal networks and the public.
Another important requirement is password protection on all company devices. All POS systems, internet devices, and other payment systems need to be secure from the public. This means passwords need to be enabled for each device and should be consistently changed for optimal security.
Maintaining updated software is essential for defending against viruses. Software updates contain crucial patches in security measures and fix any vulnerabilities within the system.
Proper logging of cardholder information should be regularly conducted due to all the sensitive data it holds. Whether this is done on paper or digitally, the documentation should be in a locked room that only authorized personnel can access.
There are many other measures to take when looking to become PCI-compliant, such as mini audits, data minimization, unique ID access, and others. To be sure you are fully compliant, refer to the updated PCI DSS requirements.
Let Us Help
If you are ready to upgrade your PCI compliance, we have solutions that will help. Contact us today to learn more about PCI compliance and how Celero can make the process easier.