Meeting regulatory criteria and offering real security that genuinely reduces risk are two unrelated jobs. Here’s how security can be compromised by a sole focus on compliance.
If you don’t follow PCI DSS requirements and a breach happens, you might face expensive fines and penalties in addition to harm to your company’s reputation. Although PCI DSS is vital, it is difficult for an SMB to maintain.
Look over the following PCI-related queries. Even while this is by no means a comprehensive list, we can assure you that if you answered “no” to any of these questions, you are not complying with PCI regulations and could use help.
- To protect cardholder data, have you set up and maintained a firewall configuration?
- Use and update antivirus software frequently?
- Have you given each user that has access to the computer a special ID?
- Do you limit access to cardholder data physically?
- Do you keep track of all network resource accesses and cardholder data, and test your security procedures and systems on a regular basis?
Confusion and frustration may result from the lengthy self-assessment questionnaires and several cybersecurity layers that must be implemented to remain compliant.
Fortunately, there is the PCI SSC Small Merchant Task Force, a committed global initiative to help small businesses strengthen payment data security.
The task group, which is co-chaired by Barclaycard and the National Restaurant Association (NRA), works together to develop guidelines and tools that make PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance easier for some of the most susceptible companies targeted by cybercriminals.
Small businesses with one or a few locations are among the MB merchants, as are larger organizations with numerous edge sites, such as franchises or branch offices. Their enterprises’ distributed nature might lead to security flaws and problems, making them susceptible to data breaches.
