Defined Approach Requirements
2.1.1 All security policies and operational procedures that are identified in Requirement 2 are:
• Documented.
• Kept up to date.
• In use.
• Known to all affected parties.
Customized Approach Objective
Expectations, controls, and oversight for meeting activities within Requirement 2 are defined and adhered to by affected personnel. All supporting activities are repeatable, consistently applied, and conform to management’s intent.
Applicability Notes
[No detail is provided here in the PCI DSS 4.0]
Defined Approach Testing Procedures
2.1.1 Examine documentation and interview personnel to verify that security policies and operational procedures identified in Requirement 2 are managed in accordance with all elements specified in this requirement.
Purpose of requirement and procedures
Requirement 2.1.1 is about effectively managing and maintaining the various policies and procedures specified throughout Requirement 2. While it is important to define the specific policies or procedures called out in Requirement 2, it is equally important to ensure they are properly documented, maintained, and disseminated.
Good practice
It is important to update policies and procedures as needed to address changes in processes, technologies, and business objectives. For this reason, consider updating these documents as soon as possible after a change occurs and not only on a periodic cycle
Definitions
Security policies define the entity’s security objectives and principles.
Operational procedures describe how to perform activities, and define the controls, methods, and processes that are followed to achieve the desired result in a consistent manner and in accordance with policy objectives.
Note: This sub-requirement requirement falls within the primary PCI DSS Requirement 2: Apply Secure Configurations to All System Components and secondary requirement 2.1 Processes and mechanisms for applying secure configurations to all system components are defined and understood..
What is the PCI DSS
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of security standards formed in 2004 by Visa, MasterCard, Discover Financial Services, JCB International and American Express. Governed by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), the compliance scheme aims to secure credit and debit card transactions against data theft and fraud.
While the PCI SSC has no legal authority to compel compliance, it is a requirement for any business that processes credit or debit card transactions. PCI certification is also considered the best way to safeguard sensitive data and information, thereby helping businesses build long lasting and trusting relationships with their customers.
Source: https://www.imperva.com/learn/data-security/pci-dss-certification/
What is the PCI SSC
The PCI SSC mission is to enhance global payment account data security by developing standards and supporting services that drive education, awareness, and effective implementation by stakeholders. We achieve this with a strategic framework to guide our decision-making process and ensure that every initiative is aligned with our mission and supports the needs of the global payments industry.
The four pillars of our strategic framework include:
- Increase industry participation and knowledge in the PCI Standards development process and stakeholder support for standards implementation. This ensures that standards and resources reflect and address industry needs and challenges.
- Evolve security standards and validation programs to support a range of environments, technologies and methodologies for achieving security. This ensures standards and resources that support and enable safe commerce and the flexibility to use different approaches to meet those standards.
- Secure emerging payment channels via development of PCI Standards and resources to support broader payment acceptance. This enables safe commerce in new and emerging card and card-based payment channels such as mobile and internet-of-things.
- Increase standards alignment and consistency of PCI Standards to minimize redundancy and support effective implementation.
PCI DSS certification
PCI certification ensures the security of card data at your business through a set of requirements established by the PCI SSC. These include a number of commonly known best practices, such as:
- Installation of firewalls
- Encryption of data transmissions
- Use of anti-virus software
Source: https://www.imperva.com/learn/data-security/pci-dss-certification/
You can learn more about the PCI DSS at https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/