In the intricate world of payment security, navigating the labyrinthine requirements of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) can feel like deciphering code. But for merchants using virtual payment terminals, the PCI DSS SAQ C-VT emerges as a beacon of hope that offers a simplified path towards compliance.

m;These days, to survive amidst the fierce competition of online commerce, merchants must prove they can safeguard sensitive cardholder data, and that means attaining and maintaining PCI compliance. And while the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) A is often considered one of the more appealing routes to achieving that compliance, PCI DSS v4.0 has added new requirements to the SAQ A regarding Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV) scans.

Incident response has always been an important component of PCI DSS—in Requirement 12.10, the standard provides critical guidelines for the timeliness, preparedness, and continuous improvement of incident response management. That being said, new related requirements and clarifications have been introduced under v4.0 that add complexity and effort to the mandates from v3.2.1.

In the world of digital transactions and data security, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) serves as a crucial framework that ensures organizations handling payment card data maintain robust security measures. However, performing and passing PCI DSS assessments when you’ve deployed a Zero Trust Environment creates unique opportunities that challenge conventional notions of scope.

A complete understanding of your cardholder data environment (CDE) is a cornerstone of a successful PCI DSS compliance program, but for that, you need to ensure you include all the systems, technologies, processes, and people that comprise it because if not, an omission or lack of controls applied could lead to non-compliance.

Comprised of both the PCI Secure Software Lifecycle (Secure SLC) Standard and PCI Secure Software Standard, the PCI Software Security Framework (SSF) is intended to help secure the design, development, and maintenance of software in payment environments. And while secure coding can be difficult, taking a conceptual approach to software development may make it—and PCI SSF compliance—a little easier.

Though all compliance frameworks require organizations to provide an inventory of in-scope systems for testing, oftentimes assessors will find these provided lists aren’t accurate. However, there are at least two big benefits to maintaining an accurate systems inventory—enhanced efficiency and better management.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of security standards designed to protect cardholder data. One of the key (and almost always applicable) requirements of PCI DSS is that organizations must perform internal and external penetration testing for the entire scoped environment—this not only applies to systems that store, process, or transmit cardholder data, but also those that can impact the security of cardholder data.