What is Magento PCI compliance and why does your Magento store need it?

E Commerce has more and more developed quickly recently. Therefore, many businesses open their online store on different platforms such as Woocommerce, Shopify,…especially Magento because of the brilliant features. However, along with the huge benefits, security is also the leading concern of both customers and owners. Buyers don’t want their personal information to be revealed for the third party which can harm them and businesses want to remain a professional image to gain the trust from the customers. Therefore, in this article we will introduce to you an outstanding solution to help you solve the tough problem: Magento PCI compliance. 

To begin with, you should be acquainted with PCI compliance

So, what is PCI compliance?

PCI is the abbreviation for Payment Card Industry. PCI compliance is a collection of basic standards and laws with the aim of improving payment data security around the world. Policies, security management, network architecture, software design, and other restrictions are among them. PCI DSS establishes best practices for eCommerce businesses to bring a secure environment for sensitive data. Another piece of knowledge is that the PCI Security Standards Council develops and distributes all PCI compliance standards. The PCI Security Standards Council was established in 2006 to develop these regulations and oversee PCI compliance in the eCommerce industry. Visa, Mastercard, JCB International, Discover Financial Services, and American Express are among the largest global payment card networks represented on the council.

PCI compliance is compulsory for any business which operates an online store. Businesses who adhere to and achieve PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) compliance are referred to as PCI compliant.

There are different PCI DSS compliance levels you should know

PCI Compliance has four diverse stages, each of which refer to an annual evaluation by a Qualified Security Assessor and a quarterly scan by an Approved Scanning Vendor of varying scope.

PCI DSS Compliance Level 1

This is the initial level of PCI compliance for eCommerce, and it is used for organizations that process millions of transactions. The following sorts of businesses are subject to these rules:

• eCommerce companies that handle more than 6 million Visa or Mastercard transactions each year, consist of both online and offline transactions (if a company has an offline presence)
• Every year, payment facilitators execute about 300,000 transactions.
• All online stores which Visa considers to be Level 1
• Each year, an authorized PCI auditor conducts an audit to verify their compliance. Every quarter, Level 1 organizations must have a PCI scan performed by an Approved Scanning Vendor, or ASV.

PCI DSS Compliance Level 2

This form of regulation is usually suitable for large businesses with a transaction volume of less than 6 million:

• 1-6 million Visa transactions are conducted annually by merchants, having both online and physical payments.
• With over 300,000 annual transactions, payment facilitators are in high demand.
• Each year, these companies must complete a Self-Assessment Questionnaire, or SAQ, as well as a PCI scan every quarter.

PCI DSS Compliance Level 3

This level of PCI compliance for eCommerce is for merchants who conduct 20,000 to 1 million Visa eCommerce transactions per year. These firms, like level 2, must complete an annual SAQ but are only the obligation to execute quarterly scans in certain conditions.

PCI DSS Compliance Level 4

Level 4 pertains to smaller eCommerce businesses with fewer transactions:

• Sellers who make fewer than 20,000 Visa transactions per year are not eligible.
• Merchants who execute a million or more Visa transactions per year (online and offline)

Although a yearly SAW is required, the quarterly PCI scan is performed on a “as needed” basis. The overview of the main PCI DSS compliance levels provided above will assist you in determining which level of compliance your company should achieve.

Magento PCI Compliance

Firstly, Magento Commerce Edition

As you know, Magento 2 Commerce (Cloud) Edition, especially the latest version Magento 2.4.4 is PCI certified as a Level 1 Solution Provider, carrying on the legacy of its predecessor. PCI compliance is increasingly more accessible to enterprises. They may rely on Magento’s PCI Attestation of Compliance to help them demonstrate that they’ve met the criteria.

Because the majority of people that use Commerce Edition are mid-sized and big businesses that handle more than 6 million transactions per year, this is critical.

Furthermore, Magento stores are linked to payment gateways, which send data straight to the payment gateway rather than storing it on the Magento server. Both the Magento Open Source and Commerce editions have this capability.

Next, Magento Open Source Edition

The Open Source Edition does not contain PCI compliance as a feature. However, there are a few options for making your Magento website PCI compliant:

1. Make a payment through a third-party service (for example, PayPal express)

This is the way we stated in the Commerce edition section.

You will not need to be PCI-compliant if you choose this option because credit card information will not be stored on your server. Using a third-party payment gateway in the past could have caused your customer’s checkout process to be disrupted. However, this is no longer an issue.

With a third-party payment gateway for example Magento Stripe integration, merchants can now provide a seamless checkout experience. You can make changes to the core Magento eCommerce application without having to go through re-assessment to be PCI-compliant if sensitive data isn’t stored on the Magento server.

2. Use a SaaS payment application that is PCI compliant.

You can utilize the CRE Secure, which is PCI compliant, as an example. The customer is directed to a different website (the URL changes), but the form can be adjusted to match the design of your store.

And the question is why you need to be PCI Compliant?

It’s not an overstatement to state that eCommerce has dominated the market for the past several years. Along with this development, there is a growing care about client data security when it relates to online financial transactions. Despite the fact that PCI compliance is not required by law, it is considered so by precedent. This occurs because, while accepting card payments, it is your responsibility to protect your clients’ sensitive financial information. 

eCommerce businesses benefit from being PCI compliant in various ways, including:

Data breaches

• Without PCI compliance, your business is at risk of data breaches, leaks, and hackers, which can result in severe revenue loss.
• PCI compliance fortifies your defenses against cybercrime and aids in the prevention of data breaches.
• Besides, your company can face lawsuits, card replacement charges, and customer compensation costs.
• If a data breach is discovered and your company is PCI compliant, the costs of the breach are reduced.
• Reduce the number of data breaches. Most essential, safeguard cardholders’ (our customers’) data from cyber-attacks.

Penalties and hefty fines

• Failure to comply with PCI rules may result in a variety of fines that can completely deplete your financial resources.
• Counting on the volume of transactions and length of non-compliance, penalties might range from $5,000 to $100,000 per month.
• Government compliance failures could result in substantial fines in addition to the penalties imposed by payment providers.
• For serious violations, fines might reach € 20 million.
• Fraud charges, forensic examinations, and extra penalties may be imposed if the company violates the law again

Loss of reputation and revenue

• According to a recent Verizon survey, 69% of customers would avoid doing business with a firm that has experienced a data breach, even if they provided better deals than their rivals.
• Consumers now have high security expectations and a low tolerance for data privacy vulnerabilities, thanks to increased knowledge of consumer data privacy issues.
• Data breaches can harm your brand’s reputation while also reducing customer loyalty.

Suspending the use of credit cards on your Magento store

• After a data breach, failure to comply with PCI compliance could result in your ability to take credit card payments being revoked.
• Suspension of your credit card account is a more serious loss for your business because it prevents your store from processing credit cards in the future.
• You’ll need a tight security policy that conforms with PCI guidelines to avoid such losses.

Now, we move into PCI DSS Compliance requirement checklist

For firms that manage cardholder data and maintain a payment processing network, the PCI SSC has set 12 standards divided into six sections. All of these requirements must be met by any company that wants to be in compliance.

Build and Maintain a Secure Network

The first set of requirements refers to the upkeep of a secure network, and specifies that a company must:

• Installs and keeps a firewall up to date.
• On customer data, uses original, user-selected passwords rather than vendor-supplied passwords.

Protect Cardholder Data

Safeguard information about cardholders that has been stored.

• Several levels of security are used to take care of the stored cardholder data.
• It’s critical to meet this PCI compliance requirement by avoiding retaining cardholder data for longer than necessary.
• Let customers enter their credit card information through a payment gateway, and never send payment information without robust encryption.

Encrypt data about cardholders thatcan transfer over the internet.

• Encrypt cardholder data transmission via open and public networks.
• Before transporting sensitive card data to multiple systems, it’s critical to encrypt it. Using SSL and TLS technologies, you can accomplish this.
• Encrypting data during transit is extremely significant since it protects consumer data even if the networks are breached during the transfer.
• An SSL certificate increases consumer belief while also approving secure data transit.

Managing vulnerability

The third category concerns how a company manages network vulnerabilities, and it necessitates that a company:

• Anti-virus software should have application and update on a regular basis.
• Creates and maintains secure software and systems.

Implement Strong Access Control Measures

Restrict access to card data

• Access to cardholder data should be the limitation to those who have a business need to know.
• By restricting cardholder data access to a small number of people, you may decrease fraud and data theft.
• Admins with the authorization of credentials can have access.
• It also helps you to keep track of all system modifications by monitoring and documenting access control.
• Limited entry allows you to categorize security procedures based on who needs to know, giving you a clear picture of all admin tasks.

Unique IDs for data access

• Each person who has access to the computer should receive a unique ID.
• You can track the activity of each authorized individual using unique IDs.
• Carry out 2-factor authorisation for added protection, alter access passwords on a regular basis, and retain detailed logs.
• Unique IDs also assist you control user accounts and safeguard user access at all levels, making Identity and Access Management (IAM) easier.

Restrict physical access to data

• Physical access to cardholder data should be limitation
• Data security expands to data centers and servers in the physical world.
• The data must be in a secure environment with authorization access, whether on-site or off-site.
• In-house data centers should keep an eye on illegal workers and visitors. Before giving access to the data center, you can also update security checks on a regular basis.
• If you’re keeping data off-site, look into the security precautions used by the storage provider and choose a reputable Magento hosting service.

Monitor and Test Networks Regularly

The fifth set of standards focuses on how a company monitors and exams its network, and it mandates that the company:

• All access to cardholder data and network resources will have track and monitor.
• Regularly evaluations security systems and protocols.

Maintain an Information Security Policy

And last, all systems and procedures must have check on a regular basis, as requirement by the PCI DSS, to ensure that the maintenance of security.

Then, how do you get PCI compliance?

Any company or organization that takes card payments online or keps credit card data should be PCI compliant, via the PCI Compliance Security Standard Council.

Businesses must typically check their PCI compliance every year or quarter by employing a professional assessor or a company to establish whether they are doing transactions correctly.

So, how do you comply with PCI?

• Determine the PCI level that you want to use. The quantity of card transactions your organization processes each year determines which of the four levels you will be assignment. They’ll influence your approach to PCI DSS compliance.
• Choose a questionnaire for your self-evaluation (SAQ). Induce seven different types based on your merchant level and how you process credit card information. Each class indicates a separate set of standards that must have enough standard in order to be PCI compliant.
• Create a secure network to satisfy PCI DSS certification standards. From vulnerability scanning through security maintenance and repair, this method can handle it all. To deal with all of the heavy lifting, you’ll need the assistance of an information technology contractor.
• Fill out the Attestation of Compliance (AOC) form – A document that verifies the findings of a PCI DSS audit.
• The road to PCI compliance might be difficult to navigate. However, if you want to secure your customers’ perceptions of you and your vital data from hackers, it’s worth the trip.

We propose that as a Magento store owner, you set up a SecurePay plugin that is PCI DSS compliant. For retailers, this will be a more cost-effective way to send transaction information to SecurePay for processing.

Besides, you can be concerned about how much does PCI Compliance cost?

PCI compliance costs vary depending on your company’s size, card processing procedures, and other considerations.

PCI DSS compliance can cost as little as $300 per year for small firms, depending on the following factors:

• $50 – $200 for a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ).
• Vulnerability scanning costs between $100 and $200 per IP address.
• Around $70 per employee for training and policy formulation.
• From $100 to $10,000 for remediation (depending on the amount of work required to meet compliance and security).

The overall cost of a PCI DSS examination for major businesses is around $70.000 in expectation, including 

• On-site audit: Approximately $40,000
• Vulnerability scanning costs around $1,000.
• Around $15,000 for penetration testing
• $5,000 for policy formulation and training.
• Remediation (updates to software and hardware, etc.): $10,000 – $500,000

The price of being PCI compliant at the enterprise level is not inexpensive. Still, any PCI compliance fee isn’t worth jeopardizing your customers’ information or your company’s long-term image.

Last but not least, we will give you some best practices for Magento PCI compliance

Employee Training

Magento PCI compliance is a technological requirement that necessitates extensive knowledge and training prior to implementation.

Ascertain that your Magento platform has good security thanks to a team of experts.

Devote in employee training or employ industry experts to assist you with Magento compliance and security.

Self Assessment Questionnaires (SAQs)

With small retailers, the PCI DSS has released nine self-assessment questionnaires.

SAQ is a basic yes/no security assessment exam that allows you to assess your security and perform effective repair actions.

You can complete the assessment and add an Attestation of Compliance once you’ve determined which questionnaire is right for your company.

The PCI SAQ serves as verification of compliance and security. When collaborating with third-party companies, it is advantageous.

Document policies and compliance reports

Keep a record of security regulations by documenting changes and operational processes in your company on a regular basis.

The PCI Report on Compliance and Attestation of Compliance (RoC/AoC) is a security compliance evaluation.

It is performed by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) or a qualified internal assessor to determine whether your Magento store is secure to process cardholder data.

Conduct regular maintenance

Magento PCI compliance is an ongoing management process, not a one-time assessment.

Vulnerability scans should be performed on a regular basis, security should be updated, and compliance procedures should be thoroughly documented.

Magento system configurations change all the time, and if you don’t keep up with them, you’ll lose compliance controls and jeopardize data security.

Conclusion

In the internet environment, coping with the security problem isn’t easy for both business and customers. Therefore, the Magento PCI compliance can be an assistance for companies to reduce the risk coming from the online environment. It not only helps buyers feel more secure when shopping in your store, but also you can build the belief of customers which can boost the image of the brand and attract more customers. Then if you are a Magento store owner, don’t hesitate to implement Magento PCI compliance. If you don’t know what to do, you can visit our service: Magento development to find the solution or contact us directly for convenience.