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PCI Compliance & Certification for Vending Machines – Overview

PCI compliance and certification for vending machines is essential as these physical containers are directly involved in the storing, processing, and transmitting of cardholder data. Additionally, because such machines are still unfortunately the target of malicious individuals – yes, people still like to steal Snicker bars, soft drinks, but now also credit card information – locking down and securing vending machines is critically important. What’s more, today’s vending machines are much more sophisticated than your old-school 1970’s & 1980’s devices that contained little to no electronic gadgetry in comparison with the now advanced digital containers found seemingly everywhere.

Rapid PCI Compliance with our PCI Policy Toolkits – Download Now

Just a quick note on the importance of policies, procedures, security awareness training, and other essential documentation for businesses that are seeking to become PCI DSS compliant. You need to remember that while the PCI DSS standards are without question technical in nature, there’s a large – and often overlooked – mandate for developing and implementing documentation. From policies and procedures to security awareness training, performing risk assessments, and more, you’ll need to put in place well-written documents, and it’s why we offer industry leading PCI Policy Compliance Toolkits for download at pcipolicyportal.com.

5 Important Things to Know Regarding PCI Compliance for Vending Machines

1. Who owns it? First and foremost, you need to ensure you have a solid understanding of who actually owns the vending machine. Why? Because most vending machines today are leased out to other entities for purposes of patron interaction. Think college campuses, bookstores, movie theatres, the mall – they don’t own the vending machines – rather, they’ve acquired them from food and beverage entities/distributors.

This is important because vending machines have what’s known in the world of PCI DSS compliance as a “shared responsibility”. Specifically, both the entity providing the vending machine and the facility where the vending machine is located must ensure the safety of cardholder data, thus BOTH organizations should perform an annual PCI compliance and certification assessment. Read below on items #2 and #3 for how this plays out in terms of “shared responsibility”.

2. Vendor Responsibilities: Are you the actual company that owns the vending machines being leased out to and/or on display at another businesses location, such as a college campus, gym, grocery store, etc.? If so, then you need to perform an actual Self-Assessment Questionnaire that address all applicable PCI DSS “Requirements” for which you are responsible for. If you are responsible for setting up, configuring, and maintain the vending machine, then the vast majority of the actual PCI DSS requirements for whichever SAQ you choose would be in scope. While the Point-of-Sale hardware affixed to the vending machines are not your responsibility in terms of PCI compliance, you do need to ensure such devices and software have gone through the various PCI specific programs for certification, such as PCI DSS, PA-DSS, etc.

So which questionnaire should be used for vending machines in terms of PCI DSS compliance – good question – and here’s our professional assessment on this issue:

First and foremost, you’ll need do understand which of the Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQ) you can and cannot actually even use for PCI compliance for vending machines, and here they are:

• SAQ A: Self-Assessment Questionnaire A is for “Card-not-Present Transactions” (i.e., e-commerce or mail/telephone orders), so this is NOT allowable for PCI compliance for vending machines.
• SAQ A-EP E-commerce merchants who outsource all payment processing to PCI DSS validated third parties, and who have a website(s) that doesn’t directly receive cardholder data but that can impact the security of the payment transaction. No electronic storage, processing, or transmission of any cardholder data on the merchant’s systems or premises. Applicable only to e-commerce channels, so this is NOT allowable for PCI compliance for vending machines.
• SAQ B: Merchants using only (1). Imprint machines with no electronic cardholder data storage; and/or (2). Standalone, dial-out terminals with no electronic cardholder data storage. Not applicable to e-commerce channels, thus if the vending machine uses an actual dial-out terminal, this SAQ could be used.
• SAQ B-IP: Merchants using only standalone, PTS-approved payment terminals with an IP connection to the payment processor, with no electronic cardholder data storage. Not applicable to e-commerce channels, thus if the vending machine uses an IP connection, this SAQ could be used.
• SAQ C-VT: Merchants who manually enter a single transaction at a time via a keyboard into an Internet-based virtual terminal solution that is provided and hosted by a PCI DSS validated third-party service provider. No electronic cardholder data storage. Not applicable to e-commerce channels. This is NOT allowable as credit cards are not entered into vending machines via any type of keyboard or virtual terminal.
• SAQ D: If you cannot find any type of fit for the above reference Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQ), then SAQ D can be used as a last resort. Just remember that you’ll have to spend some time going through the entire questionnaire for determining which areas are in scope and which are NA.

3. On-site Locations: Are you the actual entity leasing or physically housing the vending machines, then you also need to become PCI DSS compliant for all applicable PCI DSS “Requirements” for which you are thus responsible for. While the vast majority of the PCI DSS “Requirements” would fall on the shoulders of the vendor owning the machines, general best practices would require you to comply with various aspects of Requirement’s 9 and 12 of the PCI DSS standards. Requirement 9 calls for addressing physical security controls, while Requirement 12 address information security policies and other business specific initiatives and best practices.

4. Dual Ownership of Controls Means Dual Compliance: As is the case with vending machines, often more than one entity is involved in the overall safety and security of the cardholder data being stored, processed, and/or transmitted, thus both parties (as there are generally just two) need to complete their own applicable SAQ documents. That is now abundantly clear, but it also means you’ll have to put in place comprehensive documentation for PCI DSS compliance.

5. Documentation is Essential: When we talk about documentation, we’re speaking about policies and procedures, along with other essential materials necessary for meeting PCI DSS compliance. This means businesses need an information security policy in place, will need to ensure employees undertake annual security awareness training, possibly perform a risk assessment, and more. The amount of time it takes to develop policies from scratch can be enormous, therefore, sourcing high-quality PCI DSS SAQ policies and procedures from a proven, trusted vendor is critical. As the leading provider of PCI DSS compliance services, pcipolicyportal.com offers a wide variety of PCI Policy Packets to choose from, such as SAQ policy templates to comprehensive PCI policy toolkits containing essential documentation for becoming compliant. Getting help when you need it is what makes us different from other companies, so visit pcipolicyportal.com today to learn more.

The Global Leaders for PCI DSS Compliance Policy Documents – Download Today

PCI DSS compliance for vending machines can get a little tricky in terms of scope and the requirements for documentation, such as the policies and procedures that need to be developed. Add to the fact that often more than one organization has responsibility for compliance, and the need for a PCI expert to assist you becomes quite clear. Materdei Consulting, LLC offers comprehensive PCI compliance consulting services, along with industry leading PCI policy toolkits, PCI policies and procedures, and other supporting documents for helping you become PCI compliant. Visit pcipolicyportal.com today to learn more about our products and services.

PCI Compliance Certification Basics and Best Practices for Small Businesses 

Need to become PCI DSS compliant? Have questions about PCI certification for Small Businesses? Get the answers you need regarding PCI compliance certification basics and best practices for merchants, service providers and other small businesses from Materdei Consulting, LLC. If you store, process, and or transmit cardholder data, then becoming compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) is a strict mandate. Knowing where to begin in terms of PCI DSS compliance allows you to cross the finish line largely unscathed, so take note of the following PCI compliance certification basics and best practices for merchants, service providers and other small businesses:

Our PCI Toolkits save Small Businesses Thousands of Dollars on Compliance

Before we dive into the PCI certification list of best practices for small businesses, it’s important to note that documentation is a big part of PCI DSS compliance. Specifically, we’re talking about policies, procedures, security awareness training, risk assessments, and more. Developing this material can take literally hundreds of hours, and it’s why small businesses turn to pcipolicyportal.com as our PCI toolkits contain all the essential templates and forms for helping achieve PCI compliance in a rapid manner. Do you really have time to be writing policies and procedures from scratch? Do you really have the time and money for sourcing security awareness training materials and risk assessment documentation? I think we know the answer, so turn to the global PCI DSS experts today that offer PCI toolkits along with SAQ Policy Packets for instant download.

5 Essential Things Small Businesses Need to Know for Becoming PCI Compliant

1. Understand what PCI Compliance Actually Means: PCI compliance is a healthy mixture of technical, operational and business controls. It’s about ensuring the safety and security of cardholder data. That’s obvious, and you more than likely already know this, but keep in mind that it’s really about putting in place best practices in terms of I.T. controls, operational controls, and having extensive documentation in place. This “can” take time,

2. Are you a Merchant or a Service Provider? Well, what’s the difference, your very first question might be, and a good one indeed. Merchants are businesses that deal directly with cardholder data – specifically – they have services and solutions that directly facilitate a payment transaction, thus think of gas stations, online retailers, grocery stores – any type of business selling something in credit card present or credit card not present environment (i.e., e-commerce). As for service providers, there’s wide discretion as to what one is, but essentially it’s an organization that still has the ability to impact the safety and security of cardholder data, but doesn’t necessarily involve itself directly with credit card transactions/payment services. Think data centers, managed services providers, and others.

3. What’s Your Merchant or Service Provider Level? Another good question, and here’s what you really need to know without getting into specific details: the vast majority of merchants and service providers throughout North America can effectively validate annual PCI DSS compliance via any number of the PCI DSS Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQ). Why? Because most businesses simply do not – and will never – meet the transaction threshold for credit cards to put them into the category of an official Level 1 onsite audit by a Payment Card Industry Qualified Security Assessor (PCI-QSA) – and that’s a good thing!

4. Know that Documentation is Critical: When we talk about documentation in the world of PCI DSS compliance, we’re talking about the large number of PCI policies and procedures that need to be developed, along with other supporting materials. From Requirement 1 to Requirement 12 of the actual PCI DSS standards, dozens of policies, procedures, and other essential documents need to be developed – there’s simply no way around it. Additionally, add to the list the requirements of security awareness training, performing a risk assessment, implementing an incident response plan – and more – and you can clearly see that the hours for developing such materials begins to quickly add up. Perhaps you have policies and procedures in place – that’s great – but are they current, relevant, and can they be mapped to the actual PCI DSS framework? Tough questions, but it’s also why small businesses turn to the PCI experts at Materdei Consulting, LLC when it comes to acquiring the very best PCI policies and procedures for enabling rapid compliance.

A well-written, factual and comprehensive set of information security policies and procedures goes a long way in not only greatly aiding with PCI DSS compliance, but also in helping meet other regulatory compliance reporting mandates. And probably more important than anything is the ability for policies and procedures to help guide employees in understanding their daily operational roles and responsibilities within an organization. Remember, knowledge is power, and well-developed information security policies – and other essential documentation – gives you that power. Visit pcipolicyportal.com to learn more about our industry leading PCI DSS policies, templates, and toolkits for merchants and service providers.

5. Risk Assessments are Essential: We just spoke about the importance of performing an annual risk assessment. Remember, it’s a mandate for PCI DSS compliance for many businesses, but it’s also a best practice that every small business should be performing. Think about it, how can you continue to grow and create revenue along with long-term viability if you have no real idea about the threats, issues, and constraints facing your business? Additionally, you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on high-priced risk assessment software, simply use our comprehensive and easy-to-follow risk assessment template that’s included within the PCI Policy Toolkits available for instant download today.

The world is more complex and challenging than ever before – that we can all agree on – thus the importance of assessing risks to one’s organization is absolutely critical. Financial risks, external risks, information security risks – there’s a healthy number of risk categories to pick and choose from – and we provide them all. Saving thousands of dollars and dozens of hours on PCI risk assessments for small businesses is easier than ever. And the same goes for everything else you need for PCI compliance – we have it all available in an easy-to-use toolkit!

The Global Leader for PCI DSS Policies & Toolkits – Learn More

Both merchants and service providers are fighting a fierce battle every day in the business world as competition is lurking around every corner. Margins are getting thinner and your competitors are getting more aggressive. Add to the fact that compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) is now a regulatory compliance mandate, it’s enough to drive businesses into the red. There has to be a better way for managing and facilitating regulatory compliance, particularly with the PCI DSS standards, and there is! It starts by visiting pcipolicyportal.com and downloading any number of our industry leading, award-winning PCI policy and compliance toolkits and PCI-SAQ policy packets.

Hey, time is money, we understand that, and it’s why Materdei Consulting, LL launched pcipolicyportal.com in 2009 – to provide the very best PCI policies and procedures found anywhere – and we’ve succeeded! We’ve sold thousands of PCI Policy Toolkits to businesses all around the globe, so visit pcipolicyportal.com today.
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PCI DSS Compliance & Certification Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder, Colorado

In need of assistance with PCI DSS compliance in Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder – or any other surrounding area within the state of Colorado? Then talk to the experts today at Materdei Consulting, LLC by visiting pcipolicyportal.com today. We offer industry leading PCI DSS policies and procedures and templates for helping ensure rapid and complete compliance in accordance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

Additionally, Materdei Consulting also provides a wide array of PCI DSS specific services, such as scoping & readiness assessments, policy writing services, assistance with completing the PCI DSS Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQ), help with sourcing all necessary compliance tools (i.e., software security tools, scanning services, and more), and other essential services and solutions. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) are here to stay, so becoming compliant is a must, and we can help you ever step of the way.

Becoming Compliant is Quick and Easy with our PCI Policy Toolkits

One of the biggest – and most time-consuming – aspects of PCI DSS compliance is developing all the mandated information security policies and procedures. Documentation is a big part of today’s growing regulatory compliance mandates, with the PCI DSS standards being one of the most formidable. Saving time and money with policies begins by downloading our industry leading PCI Policy Packets at pcipolicyportal.com. Colorado has a booming technology sector – no question about it – which means there’s a tremendous amount of companies involved in storing, processing, and transmitting cardholder data, which also ultimately means they’ll need to become PCI DSS compliant. The solution for rapid and comprehensive compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) begins by visiting pcipolicyportal.com and downloading our high-quality PCI Policy Packets, available for dozens of various industries.

Save Thousands of Dollars on PCI Compliance with our Toolkits

Our toolkits –available for instant download at pcipolicyportal.com for Colorado businesses – contain much more than policy templates – that’s right – they also include award-winning, easy-to-use and implement security awareness training documents, risk assessment materials, third-party vendor management documents, and so much more. PCI compliance for Colorado businesses is much more than just writing policies, it’s also about implementing mandated initiatives that help ensure the safety and security of cardholder data. Need a risk assessment template? We’ve got that covered. How about a comprehensive security awareness training packet for educating employees on emerging security issues, threats, and best practices? We’ve got you covered on that also. How about monitoring your third-party providers who touch cardholder data? Yep, have that covered also.

The Importance of PCI Policies and Procedures & Policy Templates

If you’re a Colorado business and looking to become PCI DSS compliant without all the headaches and costly fees, then consider talking to the experts today at Materdei Consulting, LLC as we offer the very best set of PCI policy templates and compliance toolkits available anywhere today. Visit pcipolicyportal.com to learn more today. Do you need assistance complying with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS)? Do you need help in authoring high-quality, industry leading information security policies and procedures? Whatever your PCI DSS needs are, turn to the experts at  Materdei Consulting, LLC by visiting pcipolicyportal.com today.

Talk to the PCI DSS experts today at Materdei Consulting, LLC by visiting pcipolicyportal.com today. Regardless of the industry, size, or location of your business, we’ve got you covered with the very best information security policies, procedures, forms, training material, risk assessment documentation, and much more. Call us today at 424-274-1952 to learn more.

PCI Compliance Services Offered to Colorado Businesses

PCI DSS services offered to businesses in Denver, Fort Collins, and Boulder – along with all other areas throughout Colorado – consist of a wide-range of solutions, from PCI DSS readiness assessments, policy writing, technical remediation, assistance with completing any number of the Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQ) and much more. Additionally, all our services are priced at fixed-fees, and our industry leading PCI Compliance Toolkits are available for instant download today at pcipolicyportal.com. When it comes to PCI DSS compliance, we offer the following services and solutions to Colorado merchants
and service providers:

1. PCI DSS Readiness Assessments: Gaining a strong understanding of the PCI DSS mandates for Colorado businesses begins with performing a comprehensive readiness assessment; an essential activity for helping determine PCI DSS scope, deficiencies and gaps, along with other critical information. Don’t look at a readiness as just another fee for PCI DSS compliance, rather, look at it as a highly effective initiative for helping create long-term efficiencies and savings in terms of PCI DSS compliance.

Look, if you’re new to PCI DSS compliance, it can be an incredibly daunting and challenging mandate, no question about it. The smart, practical approach is to retain the services of a professional and let an expert guide you through the entire process by beginning with a comprehensive, yet brief and cost-effective PCI DSS scoping & readiness assessment. Trust us on this, you’ll save hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on becoming PCI DSS compliant in the long run. Short-cutting PCI compliance is not recommended, so email us at pci@pcipolicyportal.com to discuss our services.

2. Information Security Policies and Procedures Writing: We specialize in what’s arguably the most demanding and time-consuming aspect of PCI DSS compliance – authoring information security policies and procedures. With over 50 different policy documents mandated for PCI DSS compliance, who really has the time to spend authoring such documents – not many companies – and it’s why they turn to us for expert policy writing at a cost-effective, fixed fee. Documentation is a large part of PCI compliance, so let the experts author your policies today! We’ve been helping Colorado businesses in saving a tremendous amount of money, time, and headaches when it comes to PCI policies and procedures.

Along with offering PCI policies and procedures, our industry leading PCI compliance toolkits also contain useful materials for implementing a security awareness training program, an annual risk assessment platform, along with many other measures. In short, PCI DSS compliance is much more than just policies and procedures, it’s about implementing various initiatives for becoming compliant, and that’s exactly what our documentation offers to both merchants and service providers throughout North America. Think of the time and money saved by not having to invest in costly security awareness training or risk assessment software – it’s already included in our packets!

3. Assistance with PCI DSS Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) Completion: The vast majority of merchants and service providers in the greater Denver, Colorado area can actually “self-assess” with the current Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) via the Self-Assessment Questionnaires. While it’s not a Level 1 onsite assessment by a PCI-QSA, the SAQ’s do require quite a bit of work, and it’s why we offer Colorado merchants and service providers comprehensive solutions for meeting the needs of our clients. Remember that the SAQ’s require a healthy amount of documentation (i.e., information security policies and procedures) for compliance, and it’s why businesses turn to the experts at Materdei Consulting, LLC. Visit pcipolicyportal.com today to learn more.

4. Vendor Selection Assistance for all other Necessary PCI DSS Compliance Tools: Many of the actual 12 PCI DSS requirements – which contain a total of approximately 300 tests of controls for compliance – require various software tools & utilities to be in place. This can be an incredibly time-consuming process, both the vendor selection and the tool implementation, so there’s got to be a better way, right? Yes, let the experts at Materdei Consulting, LLC, help identity and source all the necessary tools and the respective vendors offering such services. Time is money – as the old saying goes – so turn to the experts at Materdei Consulting, LLC, for expert guidance on vendor selection.

5. Continuous Monitoring Activities: Once the initial PCI DSS certification has been achieved – either by self-assessing or through a Level 1 onsite assessment by a PCI-QSA – then the real work begins as both merchants and service providers in Colorado will need to engage in continuous monitoring efforts. What is “continuous monitoring”, it’s the initiatives undertaken by Denver businesses for ensuring their policies, procedures, and processes are monitored and assessed on a regular basis. While it’s an information security best practice every company should be doing, it also helps tremendously in terms of annual PCI certification. Visit pcipolicyportal.com today to learn more.

Colorado’s Leading Provider of PCI Compliance Toolkits and Consulting

pcipolicyportal.com is the unquestioned leader when it comes to compliance solutions for North America businesses, so contact us today learn about our services and solutions for Colorado businessses. Wherever your environment is physically/logically located – from Amazon to Azure, or a traditional data center/co-location facility, we have the services, solutions, and documentation for helping you become compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), so visit pcipolicyportal.com today to learn more. Regulatory compliance isn’t fun – that we all know – so it’s time to turn to the trusted experts who’ve been helping merchants and service providers all throughout Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder, Colorado since 2009 in becoming PCI DSS compliant. Need to talk, then call us at 424-274-1952 now.

Need a Level 1 Onsite Audit by a QSA? – We can help

Additionally, if you’re in need of a proven Payment Card Industry Qualified Security Assessor (PCI-QSA), then contact PCI-QSA Charles Denyer at cdenyer@ndbcpa.com. He and his staff at NDB Advisory are well-versed in PCI DSS compliance, offering numerous services and solutions for helping merchants and service providers in the greater Denver, Colorado area become compliant, quickly, comprehensively, and cost-effectively.

PCI Compliance Checklist for Merchants and Service Providers

Materdei Consulting, LLC, offers the following PCI compliance checklist for helping both merchants and service providers throughout North America in becoming PCI DSS compliant. As the global authority when it comes to PCI policies and procedures and PCI Compliance Toolkits, we’ve been helping merchants and service providers all throughout North America – and the world – in becoming compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) since 2009. The world has changed with growing cybersecurity threats, and credit card data is often being stolen and put up for sale in the dark web, so now’s the time to get serious about protecting your network – and cardholder data.

Our PCI Compliance Toolkits save Businesses Thousands of Dollars

From PCI DSS readiness assessments to assistance with the various Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQ), and more, you can count on us for high-quality services and solutions for PCI compliance. PCI compliance doesn’t have to be an incredibly daunting and challenging task – not when you truly understand what’s needed in terms of compliance, and not when you have our award-winning PCI Compliance Toolkits at your disposal. Available for instant download, our toolkits come complete with hundreds of pages of industry leading PCI policies and procedures, templates, forms, checklists, risk assessment documentation, security awareness training materials, and more. When it comes to saving hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on PCI DSS compliance, turn to the experts at Materdei Consulting, LLC. Visit pcipolicyportal.com to learn more about our services.

12 Critical Points about PCI DSS Compliance You Need to Know

1. Understand the PCI DSS framework. The PCI DSS mandates can be a challenging and time-consuming endeavor for merchants and services providers throughout North America, and it’s why you need to truly understand the various working components of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) mandates. From the 12 PCI DSS “Requirements” that must be adhered to, along with a never-ending list of certification options – such as the Self-Assessment Questionnaires to Level 1 onsite audits from a PCI-QSA – there’s much to learn about PCI compliance. With that said, take note of the following essential PCI subject matter, courtesy of Materdei Consulting, LLC:

2. Documentation is Critical for Compliance. In today’s world of regulatory compliance, documentation is incredibly important – but also a time-consuming task – and it’s why merchants and service providers need to obtain high-quality policy templates for PCI DSS compliance. Whatever your specific mandate is for PCI DSS compliance – from a relatively straightforward Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) to a Level 1 onsite audit by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), policies and procedures are a must. Because of this, pcipolicyportal.com offers high-quality, easy-to-use PCI DSS policy templates available for instant download today, saving businesses thousands of dollars on costly policy creation work.

3. Implementing Key Initiatives is a Must. Two (2) big mandates that most – if not all – merchants and service providers need to perform are (1) security awareness training and (2) risk assessments. Both of these initiatives require much more than just a policy document to be in place, they require that you actually perform a risk assessment and also implement security awareness training. Performing a risk assessment can be an exhausting process, but with our PCI DSS materials, you can complete your risk assessment in literally no time at all. As for security awareness, we offer both a customizable manual and PowerPoint Presentation, both available for instant download from pcipolicyportal.com.

4. Learn about the reporting requirements for merchants vs. service providers. You’ll need to gain a stronger understanding of the actual Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) reporting mandates for merchants and service providers. Specifically, what are the various levels of compliance (i.e., Level’s 1 to 4), and what are the corresponding reporting requirements for each of these levels (i.e., completion of a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) or an actual Level 1 onsite assessment by a Payment Card Industry Qualified Security Assessor, known as a PCI-QSA). While a fair number of the SAQ documents are relatively straightforward and easy to comply with, others are much more challenging, particularly SAQ D.

5. Are you a merchant or a service provider? It’s important to clearly understand the difference between a merchant and a service provider. Per the PCI DSS standards, a merchant is defined as the following: A merchant is defined as any entity that accepts payment cards bearing the logos of any of the five members of PCI SSC (American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard or Visa) as payment for goods and/or services. Sounds rather vague – and it is – and to further confuse you a merchant can also be a service provider. Thus, for clarity, if you directly take payments via card present or card-not-present, then you can generally be defined as a merchants. Businesses with e-commerce platforms, Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals are considered merchants.

6. Begin with a PCI DSS scoping & readiness assessment. Because of the complexities involved with becoming PCI DSS compliant – particularly for merchants and service providers new to this mandate – it’s extremely important to gain a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the “who, what, when, where, and why” of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, which means performing a PCI DSS Scoping & Readiness Assessment. We offer a very thorough, yet brief, and cost-effective pre-certification assessment that’ll help you identify critical scoping considerations, along with needed areas of remediation, and more. Trust on this one, spending a few dollars up front will literally save you thousands more in the long-run.

7. Remediate all gaps and issues, both operationally and technically. You more than likely will have gaps and other operational/technical constraints that will require correction – you’re no different than the untold number of businesses who are in the same scenario, so relax – just take it step-by-step and you’ll get there. The key is understanding what needs to be corrected, why, what tools to use, and who will be doing the implementation of such measures. This is why a PCI DSS scoping & readiness assessment is so critical. As to how much remediation has to be done for businesses – that all depends on the maturity of one’s control environment – but again, you won’t know fully have the answer until you dig in. We provide comprehensive readiness services, so contact us today.

8. Obtain critical PCI DSS policy templates. One of the most demanding and time-consuming mandates for PCI DSS compliance is developing all the necessary information security policies and procedures for requirements 1 through 12. PCI compliance can be incredibly challenging, with a large part of the mandates predicated on having in-depth and relevant policies and procedures in place. pcipolicyportal.com has been offering the very best documents for compliance for merchants and service providers located in North America, so contact us today to learn more about your PCI DSS compliance needs. Regulatory compliance for the payments industry is here to stay, so get compliant with the PCI standards; we can help.

9. Implement essential security awareness training. Businesses being required to become PCI DSS compliant also need to implement comprehensive security awareness training mandates for their employees. Remember something very important, the “human element” is often the most important – yet overlooked – aspect in today’s world of cybersecurity defense mechanisms. While businesses spend a fortune on industry leading security tools and appliances, they often fail to properly train their employees on security best practices, and this has to change. We offer a comprehensive security awareness training packet that’s available for instant download as part of our comprehensive PCI Policy Packets for sale at pcipolicyportal.com.

10. Perform an annual risk assessment process. This is much more than a policy document, rather, it requires a true commitment by your business in actually performing a risk assessment, one complete with formal findings and documentation. Sure, you can spend thousands of dollars on high-priced risk management and risk assessment tools, but why, often an internally developed spreadsheet, or even an easy-to-use risk management packet from pcipolicyportal.com is all you need. Remember something important, as long as the risk assessment process is done with a true intent to identify, assess, and mitigate risks, then the process can be whatever you deem it to be, so long as you document the findings. As part of our award-winning PCI Compliance Toolkits, businesses will receive an in-depth, easy-to-use, and high-quality PCI DSS risk assessment tool containing all the essential materials for performing your risk exercises.

Even without the PCI DSS mandates, performing a risk assessment is an incredibly valuable process, one that often yields measurable results for helping ensure the safety of organizational assets, and especially those systems responsible for storing, processing, and/or transmitting cardholder data and other sensitive consumer data and information. In the world we live in, there are risks every day, everywhere, on every corner, so do yourself and your organization a favor by performing a much-needed risk assessment each year. You’ll actually be surprised at the invaluable information that comes out the process – no question about it.

11. Determine any third-party relevancy for PCI DSS compliance. Outsourcing is a common practice for businesses, so you’ll have to ensure that any third-party entities accessing YOUR customer’s credit card data are also PCI DSS compliant. Our industry leading PCI Compliance Toolkits provide a third-party monitoring packet that’s a must-have if you’re involved in outsourcing any significant element of your business.

12. Hire an Expert. Are you a merchant or service provider located in North America – from California to New York – and need assistance in complying with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS)? Then contact North America’s leading provider of PCI compliance services, toolkits, and solutions, and that’s Materdei Consulting, LLC. Visit pcipolicyportal.com today to learn more about our award-winning PCI Compliance Toolkits, which are available for instant download today. Becoming compliant doesn’t have to cost and arm and leg – as the old saying goes – but it does require a true commitment by your organization for putting in place all necessary policies, procedures, and processes.

North America’s Proven and Trusted PCI DSS Experts

Materdei Consulting, LLC is North America’s leading provider of PCI DSS compliance and consulting services, while also offering the very best PCI policies and procedures found anywhere today. From small merchant websites to large-multination organizations, our PCI expertise – and industry leading documentation – are known all throughout the world. Please visit pcipolicyportal.com today to learn more about our services for North American merchants and service providers, along with our award-winning PCI policies and procedures & PCI compliance toolkits.

PCI DSS Compliance Overview for E-Commerce Businesses & Online Merchants

E-commerce businesses and online merchants are right in the crosshairs when it comes to PCI DSS compliance – and understandably so – as such platforms store, process and/transmit high volumes of credit card numbers on a daily basis. Add to the fact of growing web attacks, coupled with the continued launch of a dizzying array of websites selling products and services online via credit card transactions, the importance of cardholder data security of e-commerce platforms has never been greater.

There’s many challenges for merchants seeking to ensure the safety and security of their e-commerce platforms – and become PCI DSS compliant – so take note of the following overview and best practices, provided by Materdei Consulting LLC, providers of the industry’s highest quality PCI Policy Compliance Toolkits & policy templates for e-commerce merchants, service providers, and all other businesses seeking to become PCI DSS compliant:

Understanding the E-commerce Infrastructure for PCI Compliance

Web Servers: A web server’s primary purpose is storing, processing, and delivering web pages to clients, with web pages delivered (i.e., “served up”) via HTML documents, which may include images, style sheets and scripts in addition to text content. As for e-commerce web servers, they are generally publicly accessible and should thus NEVER store credit card data. Web servers, do, however, communicate with highly sensitive servers, such as application and database servers, which “should” be protected internally behind firewalls.

General provisioning and hardening of the web server, and the underlying application and operating system, should be performed for helping ensure its safety and security. General provisioning means removing default vendor accounts (passwords, etc.), removing and/or shutting down insecure services and protocols (telnet, etc.), putting in place necessary security monitoring and protection tools (File Integrity Monitoring – FIM, anti-virus, etc.). Securing web servers – all servers, if you will – goes a long way in protecting cardholder data.

Application Servers: Application servers perform critical functions and thus should never be publicly accessible. Additionally, application servers are not to interact or “face” the untrusted external network, instead, receiving requests from the web servers for any number of reasons. Furthermore, application servers may also receive responses or retrieve content from database servers and passing the results back to web servers for presentation to the consumer.

Data Storage: The data-storage platform for PCI DSS compliance essentially includes database servers and any other systems that may be used to store data. Because database servers often store cardholder data, such as the Primary Account Number (PAN), they must never be publically accessible. Additionally, if cardholder data is being stored, it must be encrypted, such as the use of file or column level encryption.

Shopping Cart Software: Many of today’s shopping cart software programs are effectively involved in authorization and settlement functions, ultimately requiring such software to be Payment Application Data Security Standards (PA-DSS) compliant. This is different from PCI DSS compliance, as the PA-DSS standards focus primarily on the application itself that’s performing critical authorization and settlement processes. Simply visit pcisecuritystandards.org to see if the shopping cart software being used is in fact PA-DSS compliant.

SSL and TLS Secure Transmission Methods: Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is now considered not to be a secure encryption data transmission protocol, requiring organizations to now move to the most current and stable version of TLS. It means for end-users of e-commerce systems, they’ll have to update browsers or have a broken connection. It’s a relatively straightforward approach, but one that needs to be implemented by e-commerce merchants for ensuring the continued security of data transmissions. Even early versions of Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol are not considered an industry best practice, as experts are now pushing for the most current version of TLS. If you’re still using SSL, keep in mind that per the actual PCI DSS standards, you’ll need to have a documented risk mitigation plan in place that effectively discusses your long term plans from moving away from SSL and over to TLS.

Network Components and Essential Systems: Specifically, the firewalls, routers, switches, and load balancers that are in place for filtering traffic and protecting the cardholder data environment also need to be assessed for PCI DSS compliance. Who is responsible for provisioning such devices and establishing rulesets? Is this a function performed by your internal network engineers or a third-party entity? Do you have documentation – policies and procedures – describing such actions? It’s just another reason to consider purchasing and downloading our PCI Policy Compliance Toolkits & policy templates for e-commerce merchants.

Types of E-commerce Solutions and Platforms

The e-commerce system being utilized for helping manage and sell your products and services also has large implications regarding the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) mandates. Are you using a well-known provider, such as Shopify or Volusion, is it SaaS based, are you hosting at your own data center, etc.? These are questions you’ll need to answer for ensuring PCI compliance.

Merchant Controlled E-commerce Platform: With this type of platform, Merchant-managed e-commerce implementations are generally those whereby the merchant effectively develops, or pays someone else to develop, their own payment application, or the merchant utilizes a commercial payment application. As such, the merchants web application and overall e-commerce structure are thus in scope for PCI DSS compliance. Additionally, such platforms may very well have PA-DSS applicability.

More specifically, PA-DSS stands for “Payment Application Data Security Standards”, thus, if your payment application conducts authorization and settlement functions and is also being used by other parties, then the application itself will need to become PA DSS compliant. Similar to PCI-DSS, PA-DSS requires an assortment of policies, procedures, and processes to be in place, but it’s also vastly different from PCI-DSS compliance in that the scope and main focus of PA-DSS is the actual payment application, and not the entire PCI-DSS environment.

Shared E-commerce Platform: Shared-management e-commerce implementations are those where the merchant effectively maintains responsibility for various elements of the e-commerce platform. With that said, there are three (3) common types of third-party provided ecommerce implementations that would fall under the “shared e-commerce” landscape, and they are the following:

• Embedded APIs with direct post: One very well-known and often used approach is utilizing application programming interfaces (APIs) licensed to the merchant by the e-commerce payment processor. In such a scenario, the actual merchant will host a web application using third-party APIs that effectively redirects the payment information from the consumer’s browser directly to the e-commerce payment processor. Thus, an API allows the merchant to send code from its web page to the consumer’s browser (“client-side” code) so that when the credit card information is entered into the specific fields, the consumer’s browser posts the payment card data directly to the e-commerce payment processor and not to the merchant’s web application infrastructure.

• Inline frames: iFrames essentially allow a web page to be embedded within another web page. The iFrame thus becomes a frame for a link to another page, therefore, a very common e-commerce implementation is to accept cardholder data via an e-commerce payment processor’s hosted web pages. These web pages can widely vary, ranging from a simple, short form containing only the fields necessary to process a payment transaction, to more complex levels. The merchant’s web application then embeds the e-commerce payment processor’s web payment page as an inline frame so that it appears as part of the merchant’s page. When data is entered into the payment page, it is posted directly to the e-commerce payment processor’s web application server instead of the merchant’s.

• Hosted payment pages: Thus for a hosted payment page, instead of embedding the e-commerce payment processor’s payment page in a frame on the merchant’s web page, the merchant’s customer is instead redirected to the payment page on the e-commerce payment processor’s site to enter payment card data. Once payment is processed, acknowledgement is sent back to the merchant’s web application. Hosted payment pages are a great way of reducing your PCI DSS scope.

Outsourced E-commerce Platform: Do you completely outsource your entire process for accepting credit cards, such as using a company like Shopify, or do you actually enter credit card information into a completely different URL other than your website? If so, you may be able to remove many of the core PCI DSS requirements from scope, such as possibly using SAQ-A, provided you are under the prescribed threshold for annual transactions.

Challenges and Vulnerabilities with E-commerce Systems

PCI DSS compliance for e-commerce merchants is not always a black and white, easy-to-interpret scenario – as we’ve seen – so it’s important to clearly understand the essential components of your e-commerce system and what you’re responsible for in terms of compliance.
Best Practices and Recommendations

Know Where the Cardholder Data is: You can’t protect what you don’t know you have – particularly when it comes to highly sensitive credit card information, so make sure you know the exact whereabouts of cardholder data throughout the entire lifecycle of your business. This means understanding where cardholder data originates from, how it traverses the system, and where it is stored. Hey knowledge is power and it’s also a good for securing one’s e-commerce platform!

If you don’t need it, don’t store it: Do you have a real, genuine reason for storing cardholder data – if not – then get rid of it and use tokenization or a simple re-direct with a payment processor/gateway, letting them handle the sensitive storage aspect of cardholder data. Breaches happened because e-commerce merchants store credit cards and criminals know this, so if there’s nothing to steal, they’ll go somewhere else.

Picking the Correct Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ): Merchants have a number of options when it comes to “self-assessing” with the PCI DSS standards, but remember that self-assessing is often easier said than done, ultimately requiring guidance and support from payment card industry experts. With that said, many merchants incorrectly choose SAQ-A, which is the easiest and shortest Self-Assessment Questionnaire, but it’s important to remember the following SAQ’s and their overall applicability:

• SAQ A: Card-not-present merchants (e-commerce or mail/telephone-order) that have fully outsourced all cardholder data functions to PCI DSS validated third-party service providers, with no electronic storage, processing, or transmission of any cardholder data on the merchant’s systems or premises. Note: Not applicable to face-to-face channels.

• SAQ A-EP: E-commerce merchants who outsource all payment processing to PCI DSS validated third parties, and who have a website(s) that doesn’t directly receive cardholder data but that can impact the security of the payment transaction. No electronic storage, processing, or transmission of any cardholder data on the merchant’s systems or premises. Note: Applicable only to e-commerce channels.

• SAQ B: Merchants using only: (1). Imprint machines with no electronic cardholder data storage; and/or (2). Standalone, dial-out terminals with no electronic cardholder data storage. Note: Not applicable to e-commerce channels.

• SAQ B-IP: Merchants using only standalone, PTS-approved payment terminals with an IP connection to the payment processor, with no electronic cardholder data storage. Note: Not applicable to e-commerce channels.

• SAQ C: Merchants with payment application systems connected to the Internet, no electronic cardholder data storage. Note: Not applicable to e-commerce channels.

• SAQ C-VT: Merchants who manually enter a single transaction at a time via a keyboard into an Internet-based virtual terminal solution that is provided and hosted by a PCI DSS validated third-party service provider. No electronic cardholder data storage. Note: Not applicable to e-commerce channels.

• SAQ P2PE-HW: Merchants using only hardware payment terminals that are included in and managed via a validated, PCI SSC-listed P2PE solution, with no electronic cardholder data storage. Note: Not applicable to e-commerce channels.

• SAQ D for Merchants: SAQ D for Merchants: All merchants not included in descriptions for the above SAQ types.

Policies and Procedures Are Essential

One of the most important and time-consuming aspects of complying with the PCI DSS standards for e-commerce businesses are developing all the mandated information security policies and procedures. It’s why we offer our PCI Policy Compliance Toolkits & policy templates for e-commerce merchants for instant download today at pcipolicyportal.com. That’s right, whichever Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) you to decide to complete – or maybe it’s even a Level 1 onsite assessment – documentation is incredibly important and critical, no question about it, and here’s why:

• Practices require documentation: From requesting changes to a firewall configuration, or moving a system from development to production – whatever the change may be – it needs to be documented for ensuring it was authorized, and has a complete history of such actions.
• Third Party Reliance: Many e-commerce websites are hosted by managed services providers – the likes of Rackspace and others – meaning it’s critical to have policies and procedures in place regarding such third party providers roles and responsibilities, etc.
• Awareness and Accountability: Employees need to be aware of what they can and cannot do at work – acceptable usage policies, if you will – and they also need to be aware of what actions will be taken against them for not adhering to such rules.
• PCI DSS Standards: Read through the PCI DSS standards, and you’ll quickly see words and phrases such as “policies”, “procedures” and more littered throughout the twelve (12) requirements.

Our Toolkits Ensure Rapid PCI DSS Compliance

Developing policies and procedures – and adhering to them – is a large part of PCI DSS compliance, but you need more than policy templates to become compliant, that’s right, you also need risk assessment documentation, security awareness training materials, and other critical forms and checklists. And that’s exactly what you’ll receive when downloading the PCI Policy Compliance Toolkits & policy templates for e-commerce merchants today from pcipoolicyportal.com. Therefore, take note of the following initiatives every e-commerce vendor should be implementing, either as a mandate for PCI compliance, or a best practice for information security:

• Assessing Risk: One of the very best ways for ensuring e-commerce businesses have a safe and secure platform for storing, processing, and/or transmitting cardholder data is conducting an annual risk assessment. Depending on which of the applicable Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQ) you choose, assessing risk is mandatory – but even if it’s not – doesn’t it just make good business sense to identify critical issues and threats facing your organization? Sure it does, and it’s why every e-commerce business should assess risk annually, regardless of PCI compliance.

• Documentation: As for policies and procedures for e-commerce businesses, it’s now painfully clear that documentation is incredibly important, not only for documenting specific processes and actions, but also for assessing risk, along with training employees, and much more. Turn to the world’s leading authority on PCI DSS policy compliance documentation, and that’s pcipolicyportal.com.

• Security Awareness Training: All the leading technology in the world means nothing without well-educated employees, those that can identify threats and concerns for an organization. The best defense against malicious actions in today’s cybersecurity world is having well-trained, thoughtful, and vigilant employees – and that’s exactly what high-quality security awareness training provides.

• Compliance is an Annual Requirement: E-commerce vendors need to become – and maintain – PCI compliant each year, which means adhering to the applicable PCI standards and supporting best practices, while also ensuring policies and procedures are still in place and relevant. This can be a challenge, particularly for companies without additional resources, but compliance must be maintained, so finding and appointing a “PCI champion” is critical for continued certification.

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Looking for the very best documentation found anywhere in the world, then turn to the global PCI DSS experts at pcipolicyportal.com. We offer the very best policy packets and consulting & strategy services for helping e-commerce merchants and service providers become compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). Visit pcipolicyportal.com today to learn more.