pcipolicyportal.com offers industry leading PCI DSS compliance reporting and certification services for merchants, service providers, and other businesses located throughout Texas. From Austin to Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and other surrounding areas, the PCI DSS compliance experts at NDB offer superior service along with fixed-fee pricing for Texas businesses.

Contact us today at pci@pcipolicyportal.com to learn more.

8 Things to Know About PCI Compliance for Texas Businesses

Compliance for Texas entities in regards to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) can be an incredibly expensive and time-consuming endeavor – but it shouldn’t be – particularly if you have a sound understanding of PCI, the roadmap to follow, and an able team of experts assisting you every step of the way.

Knowing where to start in terms of PCI DSS compliance is just as important as obtaining certification, so here’s what Texas businesses located in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio – and all surrounding areas – need to know when it comes to PCI compliance:

1. Start with a PCI DSS Scoping & Readiness Assessment: New to PCI DSS compliance and not sure where to start? Have questions you need answered regarding scope, documentation, and the endless technical and security requirements regarding PCI DSS compliance? All signs point to a PCI DSS scoping & readiness assessment, which pcipolicyportal.com offers for fixed-fees.

Brief, inexpensive and incredibly insightful, our PCI DSS scoping & readiness assessments are essential for understanding important facets of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) mandates. Contact us today at pci@pcipolicyportal.com to learn more about our PCI services for businesses located in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and all surrounding areas.

2. Remediate all Gaps and Deficiencies: One of the most important reasons for actually performing a PCI DSS scoping & readiness assessment is determining what gaps and deficiencies exist in one’s control environment, but more importantly, how to go about actually correcting such issues. Keep one thing in mind – every business (and we mean every business) – will require some element of remediation to be performed, and that’s because no organization has a picture-perfect control environment.

From missing policies to poorly configured information systems, expect to spend time on essential remediation issues.

3. Implement Various Operational Initiatives: Often times, merchants and service providers will need to acquire and implement a robust set of security tools that are essential for PCI DSS compliance. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: two-factor authentication, File Integrity Monitoring, audit trails and audit logging, vulnerability scanning, and much more.

This requires time, effort, money, and patience. It also requires the expertise of a PCI-QSA who can confidently source the right tools at the right price for your organization. Pcipolicyportal.com has the expertise, so contact us today at pci@pcipolicyportal.com.

4. Perform an Annual Risk Assessment: Performing a risk assessment is a strict mandate for many merchants and service provider undergoing PCI DSS compliance. We’re often asked what type of process and supporting documentation is needed to ensure a valid risk assessment initiative has been performed. Luckily, there’s quite a bit of flexibility on what constitutes a risk assessment, and with that said, pcipolicyportal.com offers an easy-to-use, comprehensive, and industry leading risk assessment template that’s available for instant download today with our industry leading PCI DSS Policy Toolkits & Templates.

You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars and dozens of hours on a risk assessment, just use our industry leading template and you’re good to go. Yes, it’s really that easy! Learn more at pcipolicyportal.com today, or contact us at pci@pcipolicyportal.com today.

5. Find a Competent Consultant: We’ve been performing audits and assessments for years all throughout Texas in helping merchants and service providers become compliant. It means we have years of expertise in all avenues of PCI DSS compliance. We’ve seen it all and heard it all in terms of the PCI DSS landscape, so we can guide you in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

6. Put in place a Vulnerability Scanning Solution: The vast majority of merchants and service providers in Texas will need to perform quarterly vulnerability scans for both in-scope internal and external IPs.

7. Understand the Importance of Policies and Procedures: Documentation is one of the most fundamentally important elements of becoming – and maintaining – PCI DSS compliance. pcipolicyportal.com offers the very best PCI DSS policy packets found anywhere in the world, so visit us on the web today.

8. Know that PCI is a Moving Target: PCI DSS compliance is never one-and-done, not at all. You need to ensure you policies, procedures, and processes are maintained, functioning as designed, and reviewed on a regular basis. Call it PCI continuous monitoring.