Understanding the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) is crucial for businesses that handle payment card data, especially since the standards recently released version 4.0, which all online companies must comply with.
As an adult site owner, these standards play a vital role in outlining your responsibilities as an online business to protect and safeguard your customers’ data.
In a time when the world debates age verification, data protection, and safeguarding in the adult entertainment industry, and people seek to scam and steal the information of users on porn sites via harmful malware and viruses, making sure that you are following the rules and staying up-to-date on data security is important for maintaining your business.
In this article, Adult Site Broker seeks to explain what the new Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards are after their latest update and what they mean for you and your adult website.
What Is the PCI DSS?
Created in 2004 by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express, the PCI DSS is a set of security standards designed to ensure that all companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. The PCI DSS aims to provide a framework to protect the entire card payment process, including the storage and access of cardholder data and other private payment data. Complying with these standards is essential for safeguarding sensitive data and maintaining consumer trust.
Over the years, the PCI DSS has evolved to ensure that online sellers have the systems and processes in place to prevent data breaches. In 2024, a new version 4.0 of the PCI DSS will be released.
What Are The New Data Security Standards?
In April 2024, the PCI DSS released version 4.0, introducing a new compliance checklist for businesses to protect against cyberattacks.
The latest update introduces several new requirements for online businesses, including your adult website, focused on continuous risk assessment, privileged access, and data management.
But what are the main new requirements on this checklist that you, as an adult site owner, need to know about?
Although previous PCI DSS versions have focused on companies that handle credit card payments having rigorous protections in place to protect the sensitive credit card data of their customers, in the most recent version, the PCI DSS has focused on multifactor authentication and more robust password requirements as well as placing a greater emphasis on monitoring the logging practices, empathizing a need for adult sites to have adequate tools in place to respond promptly to security threats.
Other ways that adult websites can be seen as complying with these updated standards are by implementing the following 12 steps:
Firewall
To ensure all transactions are secure, the first step is to install and maintain a firewall on every device that handles cardholder data. This is to protect your network from outside threats.
Change Factory Settings
When you receive new software or hardware from a vendor, PCI DSS requires you to remove vendor default settings, set strong passwords, and enable multifactor authentication for extra protection.
Data Protection
The most crucial part of the PCI DSS compliance checklist is how you store and protect cardholder data, both in physical and digital form. You need to know where the data is stored clearly and for how long, and encrypt all cardholder data using industry-accepted algorithms and security keys, with firewalls in place for all digital data.
Encryption
This step focuses on encrypting data in transit rather than cardholder data. PCI-compliant encryption prevents hackers from accessing or stealing data during transfers between the issuing and acquiring banks as they pass through open public networks.
Antivirus Software
Although it seems like a given, another step in the PCI DSS checklist is to install antivirus software, keep it up to date, and run regular scans. This lets you stay up to date on potential security threats or gaps in your protection.
Secure Systems
To ensure the smooth running of your adult site, implement a security checklist for your employees to protect data and secure systems and applications. It should address any vulnerabilities and advise when to update software, including firewalls, passwords, and any apps you use.
Cardholder Data Access
To reduce the chance of a breach, restrict the number of employees with access to cardholder data. PCI DSS requirements state that individuals should only access private cardholder data on a need-to-know, business-essential basis.
User Identification
Assign a unique ID to each employee on your adult website or to any user with access to cardholder details. This allows you to track who has access to what and when, and to track and survey any fraudulent activity.
Restrict Physical Access to Data
If you have a physical location alongside your adult site, the PCI requires monitoring of the physical data. This includes security cameras, restricting access to physical cardholder data, and the storage and destruction of physical copies and hard drives.
Track and Monitor Network Access
PCI standards require all network systems to be protected and monitored at all times, with a clear activity history to reference and log any suspicious activity.
Testing
You should regularly test your security systems to identify and patch any gaps or vulnerabilities that cybercriminals may exploit to steal data.
Create and Maintain an Infosec Policy
The final step to being PCI compliant is to establish, implement, and maintain a company-wide information security policy that covers employees, management, and relevant third parties.
These new standards aim to use the latest technological advances to tackle the ever-increasing and sophisticated cybersecurity threats websites face in 2024.
What Do These Mean For Your Adult Website?
Staying up to date on your data protection
First and foremost, this means adult sites need to ensure they are up to date with the latest data protection tools, from setting stronger passwords and enabling multifactor authentication to installing and maintaining antivirus software and firewalls.
Additionally, as an adult site accessible internationally, it is up to you to ensure you stay in line with other data protection regulations, including GDPR, CCPA, and CPRA.
Stricter rules
As card brands and acquiring banks seek to reduce the number of cyberattacks, PCI DSS 4.0 is setting stricter rules for all who comply. Ensuring that adult sites are not just focusing on protecting digital data, but also the physical copies of cardholder details.
For many adult sites, this may feel like an already highly regulated industry is being made stricter, with payment processors, card brands, and banks seeking to set rules focused on data protection that must be upheld alongside the new age verification laws and existing data protection laws.
What happens if you breach these new data security standards?
Card brands and acquiring banks, including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, have the right to fine organizations. Companies found to be in breach can face fines of $ 5,000 to $10,000 per month until they update their data protection measures to comply with PCI DSS.
Conclusion
If you have an adult site that handles your customers’ credit card information, you need to ensure you are up to date with PCI DSS 4.0. Whether you are the proud owner of a membership site, tube site, or live cam site, understanding your responsibilities to your customers and the sensitive credit card data they provide is vital for maintaining customer trust and compliance with industry regulations.
As the legal world tries to keep up with the digital world, PCI DSS 4.0 offers some of the most stringent rules to combat cyberattacks, which have become increasingly prevalent. These new data security standards provide a checklist to help ensure you are protecting your own and your customers’ sensitive information.
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