Network segmentation
We isolate your cardholder data environment so only a fraction of your network falls in scope — cutting cost, audit effort, and breach blast radius.
Zero Trust
Compliance · Payment Card Security
PCI-DSS compliance, scoped & simplified
Every business that touches a card number is on the hook for the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. S-Security shrinks your scope, hardens your cardholder data environment, and carries you through SAQ or ROC validation without the guesswork.
What is PCI-DSS?
The standard behind every card swipe
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is a contractual security framework maintained by the PCI Security Standards Council and enforced by the major card brands — Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and JCB.
It applies to any organization that stores, processes, or transmits cardholder data — merchants, processors, gateways, and service providers alike. Unlike a law, PCI-DSS is enforced through your acquiring bank and merchant agreements, but the consequences of failing it are just as real.
The current version, PCI-DSS v4.0.1, organizes 12 core requirements under 6 control objectives, and introduces a "customized approach" that lets mature organizations meet the intent of a control with their own validated methods.
Who must comply & merchant levels
Validation effort scales with annual transaction volume:
- Level 1 — over 6M transactions/year: annual ROC by a QSA + quarterly scans
- Level 2 — 1M–6M/year: annual SAQ + quarterly scans
- Level 3 — 20K–1M e-commerce/year: annual SAQ + quarterly scans
- Level 4 — under 20K e-commerce / 1M total: annual SAQ
Key requirements
6 goals, 12 requirements
The full standard maps every control back to one of these six objectives.
| Control objective | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Build & maintain a secure network | 1. Install and maintain network security controls (firewalls). 2. Apply secure configurations to all components. |
| Protect account data | 3. Protect stored cardholder data. 4. Encrypt cardholder data in transit across open networks. |
| Maintain a vulnerability management program | 5. Protect systems from malware. 6. Develop and maintain secure systems and software. |
| Implement strong access control | 7. Restrict access by business need-to-know. 8. Identify users and authenticate access (MFA). 9. Restrict physical access to data. |
| Monitor & test networks regularly | 10. Log and monitor all access to system components and data. 11. Test security of systems and networks regularly. |
| Maintain an information security policy | 12. Support information security with organizational policies and programs. |
How S-Security helps
Less scope, stronger controls, clean validation
The fastest way to pass PCI is to shrink what's in scope, then prove the rest is locked down. We do both.
Quarterly scans & pen tests
Requirements 11 demand quarterly vulnerability scans and regular penetration testing. We run them, fix the findings, and document the results auditors accept.
Penetration TestingLogging & monitoring
Requirement 10 means logging every access to cardholder data and reviewing it daily. Our 24/7 SOC ingests, correlates, and retains those logs for you.
Managed Detection & ResponseEncryption & data protection
Requirements 3 and 4: we ensure stored card data is rendered unreadable and all transmission is strongly encrypted — and help you store as little of it as possible.
Cloud SecurityIncident response plan
Requirement 12 mandates a tested response plan. We build and rehearse yours so a card-data breach is contained and reported, not improvised.
Incident ResponseSAQ & ROC support
We help you choose the right Self-Assessment Questionnaire or prepare for a Report on Compliance, assembling the evidence a QSA expects to sign off.
Talk to us
The compliance journey
Your path to PCI-DSS validation
SAQ for most merchants, ROC for Level 1 — either way, the route looks like this.
Define the CDE
We map every system, person, and process that touches cardholder data, then design segmentation to make that cardholder data environment as small as possible.
Gap analysis vs. all 12
We measure your environment against each requirement, identify the right SAQ type or confirm a ROC is needed, and build a prioritized remediation plan.
Harden & protect
Firewalls, secure configs, encryption, MFA, anti-malware, and logging are implemented or tuned to standard across the in-scope environment.
Scan & penetration test
We run the required ASV vulnerability scans and penetration tests, then close findings until you have clean results to attach to your submission.
Attest, then maintain
We support your SAQ/ROC and Attestation of Compliance, then keep you continuously compliant — quarterly scans and monitoring all year, not just at renewal.
What non-compliance can cost you
PCI penalties aren't government fines — they flow through your acquiring bank and the card brands. Monthly non-compliance fees commonly run from $5,000 to $100,000 per month depending on your size and how long you've been out of compliance.
If a breach exposes card data, the bill escalates fast: forensic investigation, card reissuance, fraud reimbursement, brand assessments, and potential loss of your ability to process card payments altogether. Add mandatory breach notification, lawsuits, and a damaged brand, and a single incident can run into the millions — for a small merchant, it can be terminal.
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Core requirements
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Control objectives
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Quarterly scans per year
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Possible monthly non-compliance fee
"Our old assessor made PCI feel impossible. S-Security segmented our network, dropped us to a far simpler SAQ, and got us validated in weeks. Our quarterly scans now run on autopilot."
Daniel OseiSecOps Lead · Volta Energy
FAQ
PCI-DSS questions, answered
What's the difference between an SAQ and a ROC?
A Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) is a self-administered validation form for smaller merchants (Levels 2–4), with different versions depending on how you handle card data. A Report on Compliance (ROC) is a far more rigorous assessment performed by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), required for Level 1 merchants and most service providers. We help you determine which applies and prepare for it.
How does network segmentation reduce our PCI burden?
PCI applies to your entire cardholder data environment and anything connected to it. By segmenting card-handling systems away from the rest of your network, you remove out-of-scope systems from assessment entirely — which dramatically cuts the number of controls you must implement, test, and document.
How often do we need vulnerability scans and pen tests?
External vulnerability scans by an Approved Scanning Vendor are required at least quarterly and after significant changes. Penetration testing is required at least annually (and after major changes) for both the external and internal sides of the cardholder data environment. We schedule and run both so you never miss a window.
Does using a third-party payment processor make us compliant automatically?
No. Outsourcing payment processing can significantly reduce your scope — often to the simplest SAQ — but you still have obligations: ensuring your provider is PCI compliant, protecting any data you do touch, and validating your own environment. Compliance is shared, never fully transferred.
Ready to validate?
Pass PCI-DSS the efficient way
Let's scope your cardholder data environment, shrink it, and get you cleanly validated. Book a PCI consultation today.