How to Achieve PCI Compliance When Sharing Credit Card Data

To achieve and maintain PCI compliance, businesses that accept credit cards for payment must handle, store, and share this sensitive data securely in adherence to rigorous Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements. PCI compliance is crucial because it ensures that credit card information is protected from unauthorized access, reducing the risk of data breaches. Failing to protect this data can result in severe consequences, including hefty fines, reputational damage, and potential legal action.

Businesses that fail to demonstrate PCI compliance expose their customers’ sensitive card holder data to cybercriminals, leading to theft and fraud. For businesses, unprotected credit card information can lead to financial losses and customer distrust. On the other hand, adhering to PCI compliance not only safeguards customer data but also enhances the business’ reputation and trustworthiness. By implementing stringent security measures, businesses can avoid costly violations and foster a secure payment environment, ensuring the continuous protection of their customers’ sensitive information.

In this post, we’ll take a close look at secure file sharing through the lens of PCI compliance and provide recommendations on how to stay on the right side of PCI compliance.

PCI Compliance Overview

PCI is a compliance framework for payment processors, retailers, merchants or any organization accepting credit or debit cards for payment. There are 12 PCI requirements in the PCI framework that businesses must meet:

1. Utilize firewalls to protect cardholder data
2. Use unique configurations and passwords for security systems
3. Protect cardholder data
4. Encrypt data transmissions over public networks
5. Use updated anti-malware software
6. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
7. Restrict access to private data
8. Assign a unique ID to each user accessing your systems
9. Restrict physical access to cardholder data
10. Track and monitor user access to network resources
11. Perform regular testing on security systems
12. Maintain a policy for information security and personnel

These PCI requirements apply to any and all systems, departments and technologies through which personal financial information passes. This includes any system that has credit card numbers, PINs, customer names and addresses, or magnetic stripe/EMV chip data.

PCI Compliance Levels

There are four levels of PCI compliance determined by the number of annual credit card transactions a company processes.

• Level 1 – over 6 million transactions per year
• Level 2 – 1 million to 6 million transactions per year
• Level 3 – 20,000 to 1 million transactions per year
• Level 4 – less than 20,000 transactions per year

Businesses that process, store, or transmit credit card data must comply with the requirements specified at each level. The higher the level of compliance, the more stringent the requirements. For example, a Level 1 organization must undergo an annual on-site audit by a qualified security assessor, while a Level 4 organization may be able to self-assess.

PCI Compliance Risks When Sharing Credit Card Data

Sharing or transferring credit card information poses significant risks, such as data breaches, unauthorized access, and identity theft, all of which can lead to severe financial and reputational damage for your business.

Ensuring PCI compliance is crucial when transmitting credit card info, as it requires adhering to stringent security measures to protect cardholder data. Standard file sharing and file transfer systems often lack the necessary encryption and security protocols, making sensitive data vulnerable.

When transmitting credit card information, businesses must implement encryption, use PCI-compliant servers, and adopt best practices for secure communications. By doing so, organizations can reduce the risk of non-compliance and avoid costly violations, ensuring the safe handling of credit card information while maintaining a secure cardholder data environment.

Top Five PCI Compliance Breach Types

Organizations that violate PCI DSS compliance typically do so for the following reasons:

1. Failure to Implement Required Security Updates: This includes not installing security patches and updates on systems in accordance with PCI standards, which can lead to vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit.
2. Weak Passwords: Using weak passwords or reusing passwords across multiple accounts can create a vulnerability in your system if an attacker were to gain access to one of the accounts.
3. Unsecured Wi-Fi Networks: Wireless networks are not as secure as hardwired systems and can be easily breached if not properly secured.
4. Insufficient Access Controls: Failing to implement and/or maintain controls to limit access to confidential data can lead to data theft or other malicious activities.
5. Not Monitoring for Security Events: Failing to set up or maintain a system for monitoring and responding to security events can lead to the detection and exploitation of security vulnerabilities. This can include not logging certain activities, such as system logins and changes, which can be useful for detecting compromised accounts.

Repercussions of Non-compliance With PCI

Failure to comply with PCI can present significant difficulties to organizations. These difficulties can include hefty fines, reputational damage, and litigation. Additionally, organizations may have to invest more resources into systems and security personnel to ensure, and prove, their systems are compliant with PCI standards, which can create significant financial costs in the form of training, hardware, and software upgrades.

Noncompliance can also create significant technical difficulties, as organizations may be unable to use certain legacy hardware or software that isn’t compliant with PCI standards. As a result, organizations must constantly monitor how they share data regulated by PCI as well as the data security practices and hardware/software solutions in place to protect this data, all in an effort to ensure they remain PCI compliant.

How to Share Credit Card Information Securely

To securely share credit card information while adhering to PCI compliance, businesses need to implement critical security measures to avoid costly violations. This includes utilizing PCI-compliant encryption tools, secure file transfer protocols like SFTP, and leveraging secure platforms that are PCI-compliant. By creating a Secure Cardholder Data Environment (CDE), organizations can ensure that credit card data remains protected during both transmission and storage. These measures not only help achieve and maintain PCI compliance but also safeguard sensitive information from unauthorized access, thereby mitigating the risks associated with sharing credit card details.

Businesses achieve PCI compliance with best practices that include both compliant internal practices and careful partnerships with technology providers. These practices include:

1. Use data encryption: Encrypt all sensitive cardholder data before transmission using strong cryptography and security protocols like transport layer security (TLS) 1.2 or higher.
2. Implement secure file transfer: Utilize advanced security protocols such as SFTP or FTPS to transmit encrypted card data files between partners.
3. Limit data elements shared: Only share the minimum cardholder data elements necessary. Avoid sharing sensitive authentication data like CVV codes.
4. Employ data tokenization: Replace credit card numbers with unique tokens before sharing data with partners to reduce risk.
5. Establish formal agreements: Create written agreements with partners detailing security responsibilities, access controls, and data handling procedures.
6. Restrict access: Limit access to cardholder data to only those individuals who need it to perform their job functions.
7. Monitor data access: Implement monitoring and audit logs to track all access to shared cardholder data by partners.
8. Conduct partner assessments: Regularly assess partners’ PCI DSS compliance and security controls to ensure they meet requirements.
9. Securely delete data: Implement processes to securely delete or destroy cardholder data when no longer needed by partners.

Share Credit Card Information Securely and Achieve PCI Compliance With Kiteworks

The Payment Card industry has mandated the use of stringent controls to transmit credit card data. It’s critical therefore that your organization adheres to these requirements in compliance with PCI DSS 4.0 so you can continue accepting credit card payments (read: stay in business).

The Kiteworks Private Content Network, a FIPS 140-2 Level validated secure file sharing and file transfer platform, consolidates email, file sharing, web forms, SFTP, managed file transfer, and next-generation digital rights management solution so organizations control, protect, and track every file as it enters and exits the organization.

The Kiteworks platform is used by organizations to help them meet a variety of compliance standards and mandates, including PCI DSS 4.0.

FIPS 140-2 certified encryption enhances the security of the Kiteworks platform, making it suitable for organizations that handle sensitive data like payment card information. In addition, end user and administrator activity is logged and is accessible, crucial for PCI-DSS compliance, which requires tracking and monitoring of all access to network resources and cardholder data.

Kiteworks also offers different levels of access to all folders based on the permissions designated by the owner of the folder. This feature helps in implementing strong access control measures, a key requirement of PCI DSS 4.0.

Kiteworks deployment options include on-premises, hosted, private, hybrid, and FedRAMP virtual private cloud. With Kiteworks, you can control access to sensitive content; protect it when it’s shared externally using automated end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, and security infrastructure integrations; see, track, and report all file activity, namely who sends what to whom, when, and how. Finally demonstrate compliance with regulations and standards like GDPR, HIPAA, CMMC, Cyber Essentials Plus, IRAP, and many more.

To learn more about Kiteworks, secure file sharing, and PCI DSS 4.0 compliance, schedule a custom demo today.

Additional Resources

• Blog Post PCI Compliant File Sharing: Essential Requirements & Effective Compliance Strategies
• Brief Empower PCI Compliance and Secure Data Management With Kiteworks
• Blog Post The 9 Critical Requirements of PCI DSS Compliance: Protecting Customers’ Sensitive Data
• Case Study Cartes Bancaires Makes It Easier for Employees, Partners, and Customers to Exchange Customer Data
• Brief Expand Visibility and Automate Protection of All Sensitive Email