In this case study, we delve into the journey of a national bank in achieving PCI DSS certification, which is a critical requirement for any organization that processes, stores, or transmits payment card data. The case study outlines the challenges faced by the bank in securing its payment data, the steps taken to achieve PCI DSS compliance, and the benefits that the bank has experienced since obtaining the certification.
The case study covers the following aspects:
- Challenges faced by National Bank in meeting PCI DSS’s compliance requirements
- QRC’s approach to addressing these challenges
- Solutions provided by QRC to National Bank and implementation
- Key takeaways from the partnership between QRC and National Bank
By downloading this case study, you will gain valuable insights into the steps taken by this national bank to achieve PCI DSS compliance, and learn how your own organization can benefit from implementing similar security measures.
PCI DSS Certification Challenges for Banks
- Complex cardholder data environments.
- Legacy systems.
- Multiple applications.
- ATM/POS/payment switch dependencies.
- Third-party vendors.
- Evidence collection across departments.
- Vulnerability remediation.
- Audit readiness.
How PCI DSS Assessment Helped Secure Payment Data
- Scope validation.
- Control gap review.
- Risk-based remediation.
- Evidence readiness.
- Final assessment support.
- Continuous compliance planning.
Banks and financial institutions often operate complex payment environments, making a structured PCI DSS compliance audit essential for validating controls, reducing payment data exposure, and preparing evidence for certification.
Read the complete case study to know more.
The PCI 3DS certification ensures that an organization has implemented the appropriate safeguards to protect their customers’ credit card data. It helps in reducing CNP payment frauds and assure security to payment service providers.
The client is a leading Indian payment software and service provider, serving multiple geographies in the financial industry segment. The application under review facilitated One Time Password (OTP) generation and verification functionality.
QRC Security Team created a Threat model to understand the client’s infrastructure, system components and the associated risks i.e. Public-facing systems such as Firewalls, Web Servers that process and transmit sensitive information from customers to internal systems were categorized into high severity systems, application servers and other infrastructure management servers that are performing critical tasks.
Read the complete case study to know more.
The study refers to the findings from multiple leading brands from the BFSI sector. With the growth and adaptation of new technology infrastructure, they face the mentioned difficulties in implementing the PCI DSS controls and safeguarding the crucial data.
Technologies today are increasingly complex and dynamic, challenging the client’s ability to accurately scope and effectively segment its PCI DSS environment and to maintain compliance. Owing to this, businesses struggle on implementing and maintaining technologies in the same cloud infrastructure.
With this systematic approach defined by QRC, clients were able to achieve their PCI DSS Certification in a short period of time, effectively and efficiently.
Why PCI DSS Scoping Is Critical Before Assessment
- Wrong scope can increase cost, delay certification, or leave gaps.
- Scoping should include systems that store, process, or transmit cardholder data.
- Connected-to and security-impacting systems should be reviewed.
- Cloud, shared infrastructure, third-party integrations, and segmentation must be assessed.
Common PCI DSS Scoping Mistakes
- Assuming payment gateway outsourcing removes all PCI DSS responsibility.
- Missing logs, backups, screenshots, call recordings, and exports.
- Ignoring admin systems that can affect cardholder data environments.
- Weak or unvalidated segmentation.
- Not documenting data flows.
- Not revalidating scope after infrastructure changes.
Before starting a formal PCI DSS assessment, organizations should validate their cardholder data environment, connected systems, segmentation controls, cloud architecture, third-party dependencies, and evidence readiness.
Read the complete case study to know more.