Is the fear of hefty fines and loss of client trust due to non-compliance keeping you up at night? What exactly can you expect while trying to become PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant?
At Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS), we’ve helped businesses across many industries comply with regulatory guidelines like FINRA, CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification), and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Because of this vast experience in compliance, we know how easy it is to overlook pitfalls – and how to overcome them.
In this article, we invited Sean Harris, Senior Vice President (SVP) of Cybersecurity at ITS, to share his insights on making PCI DSS compliance achievable and straightforward for businesses.
Read on as we address five challenges faced by companies looking to obtain and maintain PCI DSS compliance and how to manage these requirements more effectively.
1. Assessing and implementing PCI DSS requirements
The very first challenge is knowing exactly what you need. PCI DSS requires in-depth research and knowledge to carry out the requirements.
Depending on your team’s expertise and workload, you might not have the resources to fully comply with PCI DSS, particularly since PCI DSS requirements vary based on the volume of transactions and how you process payments.
"I believe that allocating sufficient time to thoroughly go through the process and ensure accuracy is a significant challenge because it often ends up being an afterthought," Harris said.
Start by assessing your current systems, pinpointing which of the 12 PCI DSS requirements apply to you, and then implementing the necessary security measures.
2. Maintaining continuous compliance
Compliance is not a one-time event but an ongoing process. Regularly updating software, conducting security scans, and training employees are recurring yet essential parts of the compliance process.
Speaking on this ongoing process, Harris stated, "Being aware of any changes that have occurred from the previous year to this year, which might necessitate further adjustments to your infrastructure to maintain compliance, can be quite demanding.”
Ensure you continuously monitor and support your systems for maximum compliance. Assign a point person for routine security audits and assessments to catch potential vulnerabilities.
3. Ensuring legacy systems fit the current regulations
Maybe you have some medical hardware that’s been around since the 1990s, or you have old workstations incompatible with current software updates.
We understand. Updating all these legacy systems is an involved and costly project – one that’s easy to put on the back burner when other, more important, tasks take precedence.
Beware, however, that older systems pose compliance risks due to outdated security practices. Upgrading legacy systems might require multiple levels of planning and might take up a chunk of resources, but it’s still something to plan for and resolve.
4. Dealing with data breaches
The global average cost of a data breach is $4.88 million. This is a costly figure you certainly want to avoid contributing to when aiming for PCI DSS compliance.
You must be even more meticulous about your response to security incidents and data breaches. It’s not just about your information anymore; the safety of your client’s data and your business’s reputation are also at risk.
You’ll have to plan and test an incident response plan that minimizes damage, addresses security flaws, and maintains compliance even under ransomware threats or data leaks. One of the important parts of the incident response plan is to train staff to recognize and respond appropriately if an incident occurs to ensure you don't make the issue worse.
5. Cost of compliance
Achieving and maintaining PCI DSS compliance can seem expensive, especially for small to medium-sized (SMB) businesses.
Harris noted, “It’s simply a cost of doing business. The question is whether it's worth it for your business to accept credit cards, and the answer is undoubtedly yes."
“I've had merchant services companies tell their clients not to run the credit cards over the internet,” Harris shared. “This required them to run their credit card transactions on a phone line where it had to dial up the receiving party to reduce what is subject to PCI.”
While limiting what is subject to PCI seems like a good start, the inconvenience of running transactions over a modem hardly seems like a good solution.
That’s why it’s so important to identify cost-effective security solutions and ensure you only invest in necessary upgrades and processes. You and your team will have to create and evaluate a budget that considers both initial compliance costs and ongoing maintenance.
Are you ready to tackle PCI DSS compliance?
PCI DSS compliance may be complex, but it’s also necessary to protect your business and customer data. Following these security standards helps you prevent data breaches and builds customer trust.
If you’re ready to rise to the challenge of PCI DSS compliance, contact ITS today. We have the experience and knowledge to help you navigate the complexities of PCI DSS compliance, ensuring your business not only meets but exceeds security standards.
But if you want more information before getting in touch, check out these free resources to help you on your compliance journey:
- Can an MSP Help You with Regulatory Compliance?
- What Happens If My Company Is Out of Compliance [Video]