With the ever-changing technology landscape, it is important for businesses to stay up to date with security regulations and requirements, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). By following proper security protocols and handling sensitive data with care, you can protect your customers' information and ensure the continued success of your organization. It is essential for businesses to provide their employees with workplace training that addresses data privacy and PCI DSS; let’s discuss the top three reasons why!
What is PCI DSS?
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is a set of security standards designed to ensure that all companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. These standards were developed by major credit card companies, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB, to help protect sensitive customer information and reduce credit card fraud. The PCI DSS includes requirements for data security management, policies, procedures, and other vital protective measures. If your organization accepts payment cards, you are required to comply with PCI DSS and must regularly submit to periodic assessments to ensure compliance.
Benefits of PCI DSS Training
PCI DSS compliance will not only allow your organization to continue to accept payment cards, but it could also help your organization avoid costly data breaches and protect your business’ reputation. Your PCI DSS employee training should cover its twelve security requirements and provide best practices for both organizations and individuals to protect cardholder and authentication data. EasyLlama now offers PCI DSS training, and at the end of our engaging and interactive course, learners will be able to define PCI DSS and reasons for compliance, identify cardholder data and sensitive authentication data (SAD), discuss organizational steps for compliance, and name individual employee best practices as well.
1. Increase Compliance
There are many benefits to ensuring PCI DSS compliance within your organization. PCI DSS requires compliance throughout every step of the payment process. Any employee who may handle cardholder information or sensitive authentication data should receive this training. The benefits of compliance include the protection of cardholder data, and the continued ability to accept payment cards. Plus, a data breach or violation of data privacy laws can cost millions of dollars in fines and potentially ruin the reputation of your organization.
In order to achieve compliance with PCI DSS, it is important that all individuals involved in the handling of credit card information understand their roles and responsibilities. As we've seen, a failure to do so can result in significant consequences for the company. For example, management is responsible for setting the overall direction and policies for the company, and all employees have a role to play by following those policies and being alert to potential security threats.
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2. Protect Customer Data
There are many vulnerabilities that customers present to organizations when they pay with a credit or debit card. This is called Sensitive Authentication Data (SAD) and includes the magnetic stripe on a payment card that contains cardholder data such as the credit card account number, name, expiration date, service code, and verification code. Most cards have adapted to include a chip, which is similar to a miniature computer and generates a unique code for each transaction. Chips are more secure because once the code has been used, it cannot be used again. A validation (or security) code is the series of three-four numbers located on the front or back of a credit card to provide an additional layer of security. And finally, there’s the user-created PIN number.
PCI DSS training can help protect customer data by addressing best practices for keeping this Sensitive Authentication Data secure during the payment process, including:
- Only disclose cardholder data on a need-to-know basis. This includes limiting access to only individuals who need it.
- Never write down or store sensitive authentication data, such as CVVs.
- Check to make sure payments are successful by waiting for an authorization code. This should be done when accepting payments at a physical payment terminal, online, or over the phone.
3. Improve Security
Beyond the payment process, there are a number of other security measures that companies can take to prevent data breaches for their customers. IT staff are responsible for maintaining the security of the company's systems and networks, including maintaining required technical controls, but other employees can do their part too. If you ever suspect a breach may have occurred, it is always best to consult with your organization's compliance officer.
Managers should maintain a policy that addresses information security for employees and contractors. PCI DSS training also recommends that all employees stay up-to-date with regular data privacy and cybersecurity best practices. One of the simplest ways to help improve organizational security is to create and maintain strong passwords, including never using vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords or other security parameters.
PCI DSS compliance is not a one-and-done deal. It is an ongoing process that must be continually monitored.
The Top PCI DSS Training for Your Needs
Is your company in need of workplace training that addresses cybersecurity, data privacy, or PCI DSS best practices? Educate your employees with EasyLlama’s engaging, interactive training with real-life scenarios and fun quizzes that will improve their knowledge retention! Our suite of Data Privacy & Cybersecurity courses will help ensure that all of your employees from the top down understand the importance of taking security measures in their day-to-day work responsibilities. Access your free course preview today to learn more about what EasyLlama has to offer.
