PCI Security Standards Council updates self assessment questionnaire

The PCI Security Standards Council, a global, open industry standards body providing management of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (DSS), PCI PIN Entry Device (PED) Security Requirements and the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS), today announced that its updated Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) for merchants and service providers is now available.

The SAQ is an important validation tool primarily used by merchants and service providers to demonstrate compliance with the PCI DSS. This new SAQ is specifically designed to simplify and streamline the assessment process and aid merchants who are not required to have onsite assessment to protect payment card data.

Underscoring the need for continued adoption of the PCI DSS by merchants is a recent report by Javelin Research and Strategy in which 63 percent of consumers believe that merchants and retailers are the least secure among payment transaction stakeholders in protecting account information.

In response to industry feedback, this new SAQ incorporates updates designed to reflect the most recent version 1.1 of the DSS and replaces an earlier version that had been in place since January 2005. The SAQ, version 1.1 is now available here and consists of four unique forms to meet various business scenarios. These four include:

• SAQ A: Addresses requirements applicable to merchants who have outsourced all cardholder data storage, processing and transmission.
• SAQ B: Created to address requirements pertinent to merchants who process cardholder data via imprint machines or standalone dial-up terminals only.
• SAQ C: Constructed to focus on requirements applicable to merchants whose payment applications systems are connected to the Internet.
• SAQ D: Designed to address requirements relevant to all service providers defined by a payment brand as eligible to complete an SAQ and those merchants who do not fall under the types addressed by SAQ A, B or C.

Also included on the Council’s website is a set of frequently asked questions and an instruction and guideline document for the SAQ, intended to simplify the process and ensure that merchants and service providers can more easily determine which SAQ is the proper tool for them to use in confirming PCI DSS compliance.