PCI Compliance for Magento Websites

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance standards protect all types of transactions that involve the handling of sensitive cardholder information. Learn about PCI compliance, its importance in most types of commerce including Magento, and whether your website is compliant or not below.

What Is PCI Compliance?

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a complete set of security standards for any type of business transaction that processes, transmits, and stores credit card information. Major credit card companies, such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, created the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) in September 7th, 2006 to establish and manage these set of standards. The council’s overall goal is to improve the security of credit card transactions and provide a safe environment for the handling of sensitive credit card information. PCI DSS compliance has the following specific goals:

• Protect stored cardholder data
• Create a secure network for cardholder data
• Develop a program against possible vulnerabilities
• Enforcing access control measures
• Establishing and maintaining an information security policy

Who Needs to Be PCI Compliant?

According to the PCI SSC, any merchant that engages in any type of transaction that involves the processing, storing, and transmission of credit card data is required to stay compliant to PCI security standards. Credit card companies require PCI DSS compliance for any type of transaction, regardless of the size and volume, since these standards protect them, business owners, and cardholders from possible security threats. This includes merchants operating Magento websites.

How Do You Become PCI Compliant?

As a Magento eCommerce merchant, you have the responsibility to keep your business compliant to PCI standards. In order to meet this obligation, you can perform the following steps:

• Determine your business’s compliance level, which is determined by the handling and volume of payment card transactions and data, as well as the different banks and card companies you work with.
• Fill out the appropriate official self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) to determine if your business meets all compliance requirements.
• Make the necessary technical changes if your business falls short on any area and retake the SAQ to spot any additional vulnerabilities.
• Use a data tokenization service to protect the customers’ card information in a secure portal and reduce your liability in case of an incident.
• After making all the necessary changes, fill out an official attestation of compliance (AOC) that formally indicates your business meets all requirements. Have a security assessor review it and create a report.
• File all necessary paperwork, such as SAQ and AOC, to the card companies and banks you work with, and fulfill any additional requirements.
• If you need any assistance in this process, you can work with a web development agency to complete the process with ease.

What Happens If You’re Not PCI Compliant?

If your business is not PCI compliant, your card transactions become vulnerable to data breaches on Magento, which will compromise the cardholder’s information and damage your brand. Additionally, card companies can charge your business fines that range between $5,000 to $10,000 per month.

PCI compliance protects your business from compromised transactions, a damaged reputation, and penalties. Take the necessary steps to comply to PCI standards and contact us if you need help.

Handle Information Safely On Magento With PCI Compliance

PCI DSS compliance applies to every type of merchant who accepts and handles cardholder information, no matter the volume and scope of the transactions. These standards aim to create and maintain a secure network for stored data, protect that information, create security programs, enforce measures that restrict data access, and develop an information security policy to prevent data breach and act in case the information is compromised.

The PCI compliance of your Magento website will ensure the safety of every transaction that involves credit cards. If you are not compliant to these standards, you risk the possibility of security threats compromising your stored information, impacting your customers and the banks or card companies you work with.

Is Your Magento Website PCI Compliant?

PCI compliance has several technical requirements that can intimidate merchants that may not necessarily know about them. In order to assess your business website’s compliance, you will need to take a series of official PCI self-assessment questionnaires (SAQ) to check every aspect of your site, make the necessary technical changes, and file complex paperwork that includes a formal attestation of compliance (AOC), your SAQ, and additional requirements by each card company or bank.

Are you certain your Magento site achieves PCI compliance standards? Do you need any help with the compliance assessment process? Contact Forix today to take the first step towards creating a PCI compliant Magento site, keeping your stored information safe, and maintaining the integrity and strength of your online business.