According to the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA): "Some PCI requirements are vague. Some are unattainable. Retail companies […] cited numerous examples of low-result PCI requirements, one-size-fits-all rules that don't work for various kinds of retail formats.” RILA has argued that although there is universal support for the goals and objectives of PCI and its efforts at making payment systems more secure, the standard’s ‘one size fits all’ framework is imposing unrealistic hardships on smaller retailers and it does not “appreciate the practical staffing flexibility that retailers need”.

While some of the PCI requirements may be open to interpretation, it is also true that the PCI DSS standard is one of the most robust and clear when compared to other compliance regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley. PCI is not only the least ambiguous of the lot but it is also the only standard that has gained universal approval.

What is the PCI standard?

The PCI standard is not rocket science and neither does it introduce any new, alien concepts which systems administrators should adopt; on the contrary it is an enforcement of practices that should already be in force on all corporate networks. Although PCI DSS was developed with the protection of cardholder data in mind, more than 98% of the requirements apply to any company that needs to secure its network and its data.

In essence, PCI DSS comprises 12 distinction standards that are designed to 1) Build and maintain a secure network, 2) Protect (cardholder) data in transit or at rest, 3) Maintain a vulnerability management program, 4) Implement strong access control measures, 5) Regularly monitor and test your IT infrastructure and finally, 6) Maintain an information security policy. The list below shows a breakdown of each category and what companies need to do to become compliant.

The PCI DSS requirements

Often referred to as the ‘digital dozen’, these define the need to:

Build and maintain a secure network

1: Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data

2: Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters


Protect cardholder data

3: Protect stored cardholder data

4: Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks

Maintain a vulnerability management program

5: Use and regularly update anti-virus software or programs

6: Develop and maintain secure systems and applications

Implement strong access control measures

7: Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know

8: Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access

9: Restrict physical access to cardholder data

Regularly monitor and test networks

10: Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data

11: Regularly test security systems and processes

Maintain an information security policy

12: Maintain a policy that addresses information security for employees and contractors