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PCI DSS v4 Cheatsheet

In the first half of 2024, £571 million was lost to card payment fraud in the UK alone, much of it driven by scams on social media. Fraud has clearly evolved, adopting more modern and sophisticated tactics.

In payment, one standard governing how card data is protected, namely how it is stored, processed, and transmitted, is the PCI DSS directives.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard was created in 2004 and has been the backbone of payment security for nearly 20 years. This year marks a big shift. Its latest version, PCI DSS v4.0, will become mandatory in March 2025. This is the first major update in over a decade, so worth taking a closer look at the key changes.

Overall, PCI DSS v4.0 focuses on critical aspects such as encryption, authentication, network segmentation, and vulnerability testing, ensuring businesses are better equipped to handle the ‘modern’ security threats that are increasingly sophisticated too.

◾As such one of the key changes is the introduction of a flexible compliance approach. This means merchants can choose security measures that best fit their specific needs and risks. This approach is well-aligned with how businesses today manage their security challenges. In the same way that authentication frameworks are becoming more adaptive to varying levels of risk, other security measures are also evolving to be more context-specific and scalable.

◾Another key update focuses on the Stronger Authentication framework. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is now mandatory for all accounts accessing sensitive payment systems, including remote administrative access. Specifically, MFA is required for all accounts that interact with the Cardholder Data Environment (CDE).

◾Stronger encryption and better key management are now essential. Businesses must use modern encryption methods instead of outdated ones. They also need to improve how encryption keys are created, shared, and stored to reduce the risk of data breaches and unauthorised access.

◾Given the industry’s shift towards real-time data processing, the latest guidelines also encourage automated monitoring and the use of tools that enable businesses to detect and flag non-compliance in real time.

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