How to Ensure Your MFT Solution is PCI Compliant

Looking for a PCI compliant MFT solution? We’ll walk you through the requirements of PCI DSS and your options for becoming PCI compliant.

Who needs to be PCI compliant? Any business or organization that processes, handles or stores credit card data, physically or digitally, must be PCI DSS compliant. This means there must be specific protocols in place to protect this data if an attack occurs.

What is PCI DSS and How Does it Impact MFT Implementation?

PCI DSS is a regulatory compliance framework that protects customer financial data, specifically credit card payment information, against theft and fraud. As we move into an increasingly digital and online shopping culture, credit card information is used for almost any purchase. But even for brick-and-mortar storefronts, it’s critical that technical safeguards be in place to protect that data either directly at the point of sale or if that information is stored in a server.

PCI compliance contains 12 key requirements:

1. Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder information
2. Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters
3. Protect stored cardholder information
4. Encrypt transmission of cardholder information across open, public networks
5. Use and regularly update anti-virus (AV) software or programs
6. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
7. Restrict access to cardholder information by business need to know
8. Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
9. Restrict physical access to cardholder information
10. Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder information
11. Regularly test security systems and processes
12. Maintain a policy that addresses information security for all personnel

Whenever a business uses a managed file transfer (MFT) solution to exchange credit card data, that business must have key physical, technical, and administrative controls in place that will enable compliance with the above 12 PCI DSS requirements.

Key MFT Feature Requirements for PCI Compliance

To demonstrate compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a managed file transfer solution should have several key requirements. These six features are arguably the most critical:

• Encryption: The MFT solution must support strong encryption methods for data at rest and in transit, such as AES encryption for storage and TLS for transmission. This ensures that sensitive cardholder data is protected from unauthorized access during storage and transmission.
• Access Controls: Implement strict access controls, including role-based access control (RBAC), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and detailed user permissions. Restricting access to cardholder data ensures that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information, in line with PCI DSS requirements.
• Logging and Monitoring: Comprehensive audit logs, powered by robust monitoring capabilities, track all access to network resources and cardholder data. This includes generating audit logs and maintaining them securely. Logging and monitoring help detect and respond to security incidents and support forensic investigations, fulfilling PCI DSS requirements for tracking and analyzing system activity.
• Data Integrity and Validation: Ensure the integrity of transferred data through hashing, checksums, and data validation mechanisms. This ensures that the data has not been altered during transfer, aligning with PCI DSS requirements for maintaining data integrity.
• Regular Security Testing: The MFT solution should support regular security testing, including vulnerability scans and penetration testing. Regular testing helps identify and remediate security vulnerabilities, meeting PCI DSS requirements for maintaining a secure system environment.
• Detailed Documentation and Reporting: Provide detailed documentation and reporting capabilities to demonstrate compliance with PCI DSS requirements. This includes generating reports on data transfer activities, access logs, and security measures. Proper documentation and reporting facilitate audits and assessments, helping to prove compliance with PCI DSS standards.

By incorporating these and other security and compliance features, a managed file transfer solution can help organizations meet stringent PCI DSS security requirements and, in turn, protect sensitive cardholder data.

Business Benefits of Using a Managed File Transfer Solution

PCI compliance isn’t simply a compliance hoop to jump through. It can help guide your operations and your partnerships to drive better decision-making and security practices. There are a few reasons why this is the case:

• Retailers and merchants rely on hundreds and thousands of payments per day, and those payments need to be secure and seamless between customers, processors and banks. That means that at some point you’ll need to streamline payment information through your servers, and you’ll want to have equally seamless and compliant technology in place.
• In the front, where the customers are, POS systems need to be secure, and employees need to be trained in privacy practices. In the back, email services, file transfer servers and user access need to remain compliant while also providing flexible and scalable business features. A PCI-compliant MFT solution can ground compliance in security systems so that you can do things like using secure links in PCI-compliant email or transmitting payment information for recurring payments.
• Managed File Transfer, combining batch file transfer and storage, information intelligence and security management helps bring both of these areas together. The truth is that when you have a bird’s eye view of your data, you can build a strategy that mobilizes both your compliance and security efforts as well as your business operations. Better security, and more advanced payment technology, can open up several new business opportunities. This includes things like subscription services and recurring payments, as well as payments in places like mobile apps, online portals and app stores.

It’s difficult for organizations to field an in-house payment and file management infrastructure, which is why many are turning to third-party vendors to pick up their payment and security efforts. Accordingly, an MFT partner can enable this infrastructure without worrying about security and compliance. Having an MFT partner to handle compliance and business strategies can empower you to have this infrastructure without having to worry about breaking compliance.

Kiteworks Helps Organizations Demonstrate PCI Compliance With a Secure Managed File Transfer Solution

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 and managed file transfer, so organizations control, protect, and track every file as it enters and exits the organization.

Kiteworks secure managed file transfer provides robust automation, reliable, scalable operations management, and simple, code-free forms and visual editing. It is designed with a focus on security, visibility, and compliance. In fact, Kiteworks handles all the logging, governance, and security requirements with centralized policy administration while a hardened virtual appliance protects data and metadata from malicious insiders and advanced persistent threats. As a result, businesses can transfer cardholder data securely while maintaining compliance with PCI DSS 4.0 and other relevant regulations.

Kiteworks secure managed file transfer supports flexible flows to transfer files between various types of data sources and destinations over a variety of protocols. In addition, the solution provides an array of authoring and management functions, including an Operations Web Console, drag-and-drop flow authoring, declarative custom operators, and the ability to run on schedule, event, file detection, or manually.

Finally, the Kiteworks Secure Managed File Transfer client provides access to commonly-used repositories such as Kiteworks folders, SFTP Servers, FTPS, CIFS File Shares, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, Box, Dropbox, and others.

In total, Kiteworks secure managed file transfer provides complete visibility, compliance, and control over IP, PII, PHI, and other sensitive content, utilizing state-of-the-art encryption, built-in audit trails, compliance reporting, and role-based policies.

To learn more about Kiteworks Secure Managed File Transfer for PCI DSS 4.0 compliance, schedule a custom demo today.

Additional Resources

• Glossary pci compliance requirements
• Blog Post pii compliance requirements
• Glossary What Is Vendor Risk Management
• Glossary third-party risk
• Blog Post integrated risk management