PCI compliance, which stands for Payment and Card Industry compliance, is a process to secure customer card data and prevent security breaches and card data theft.
PCI DSS, which stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, is a set of information security standards for businesses that access cardholder data. It was established by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) with an objective to increase security and control over credit card data in order to reduce credit card fraud.
Any organization that handles credit card information, whether it is storing, accepting, processing, or transmitting this sensitive information, must be PCI compliant in its software and hosting to improve the payment account security throughout the transaction process.
Ways to protect cardholder data
There are many ways through which organizations can protect the cardholder data, such as:
- Implement firewalls at every Internet connection
- Restrict access to cardholder data on a need-to-know basis
- Monitor who has access to network resources and cardholder data
- Update anti-virus software on a regular basis
- Regularly test security systems, security processes, and networks
- Maintain an information security policy