PCI Compliance Certification Best Practices for Small Businesses
PCI Compliance Certification Best Practices for Small Businesses
PCI compliance certification best practices are essential for small businesses looking to save thousands of dollars on annual costs associated with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) initiatives. With growing competition and shrinking margins, the last things small businesses need (i.e., merchants and service providers) are heavy compliance costs that consume precious financial and operational resources. Don’t become a victim of some big-box provider for PCI DSS solutions, there’s a number of ways for saving hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on PCI compliance for small businesses, so let’s take a look.
It starts with PCI Policies and Documentation
Did you know what one of the biggest and most time-consuming aspects of PCI compliance for small businesses is documentation? That’s right, developing dozens of information security policies and procedures, forms, checklists – all the necessary PCI DSS documents – can be an enormous task. But not anymore, as pcipolicyportal.com now offers industry leading, all-in-one PCI compliance policy toolkits and templates for merchants and service providers. Saving time and money has never been easier as our PCI policy toolkits and templates have been written to the exact specifications of the actual PCI DSS requirements. This ensures full coverage of all the necessary PCI mandates. The packets are available for all SAQ requirements and for Level 1 onsite assessments, so visit pcipolicyportal.com today to learn more.
Think about it, who wants to spend endless hours writing PCI policies and procedures for compliance? Perhaps you already have existing information security policies in place – great – but can they map directly to the actual PCI DSS standards, and are they even current with today’s best practices for InfoSec? As you begin to answer these questions, it starts to just make sense that the best avenue is using pre-populated policy templates from pcipolicyportal.com. Along with policy templates, small businesses will also receive security awareness training materials, risk assessment documents, and more. Visit pcipolicyportal.com today to learn more about PCI compliance certification best practices for small businesses.
It Continues by Using Cost-Effective PCI DSS Compliance Tools
Speaking of big box compliance providers of security solutions, we have one recommendation for you on them – stay away! You don’t need to spend a large 5 figure amount for obtaining high-quality PCI DSS security tools for the likes of audit trails/audit logging, file integrity monitoring, intrusion detection systems, scanning, and more. There are a growing number of providers that are extremely cost-effective, netwatcher.com being one that I really like, in providing great tools at great prices.
Additionally, you can also use open-source tools, which are now readily available for file integrity monitoring, a web application firewall, and more. The choice is yours on how much money you’ll ultimately want to save.
Hire a PCI DSS Expert for a Few Hours
Need guidance on the actual PCI DSS framework, but don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on consultants? Not a problem, Materdei Consulting, LLC – the founders of pcipolicyportal.com – offers small buckets of PCI DSS compliance consulting services for small businesses starting at just $750 for three (3) hours of consulting. You’d actually be surprised at how much you can learn in just three hours from high-quality PCI consultants, so email us at pci@pcipolicyportal.com to learn more about our services and related fees.
A PCI compliance expert can very quickly help you assess and determine scope, identify gaps and deficiencies that require remediation, recommend any number of security tools, and much more. Think of us as your PCI go-to-guy whenever you have questions. Learning more about PCI compliance certification best practices for small businesses begins with our introductory three (3) hour consulting service.
Don’t fall victim to the Scams
Are you getting email, mail, or phone calls from companies saying you have to be PCI complaint NOW or face huge fines? Most of these forms of correspondence are coming from aggressive PCI compliance providers looking to hook you on a monthly service fee. Be careful of such calls, ask the right questions, and find the “real” avenue for completing your annual PCI compliance requirements each year. So, what is that “real” avenue, it’s often direct correspondence from your acquiring bank, payment processor/payment gateway, so be on the lookout for these organizations contacting you. We hope you’ve found the PCI compliance certification best practices tips and recommendations for small businesses helpful.
Talk to the PCI Compliance Experts for Small Businesses
Wherever you’re located and whatever your business is, if you’re involved in the storage, processing, and/or transmission of cardholder data, then becoming PCI DSS compliant is an absolute must. Getting there, however, can be a whole different story, particularly for small businesses owners who need to save time and money. It all starts with documentation, so visit pcipolicyportal.com today and instantly download any number of the PCI compliance policy toolkits and templates from the world’s leading provider of PCI compliance documents.
