PCI DSS

What is the PCI DSS standard?

PCI DSS is a reference source for security requirements designed to ensure the confidentiality of bank cards and credit cards when used in IT systems. The reference source is edited and maintained by the PCI Council, a professional asssocation of credit card companies that includes VISA, Mastercard, American Express, JCB and Discovery.

Every bank that issues cards to its customers holding bank accounts, or collects transactions for its merchant customers, is free to provide a contractual definition of the security requirements that its customers and partners must comply with. PCI DSS standard defines a common security level that covers the vast majority of requirements. The PCI DSS standard has become a benchmark in electronic payment security, and compliance with this standard has become a systematic requirement for parties in online payment systems. Every party in the online payment system hosting chain holds a degree of responsibility in maintaining the platform's overall security. These obligations are contractually transferred from the card brands to all actors involved in the electronic payment platform.

PCI DSS standard officially lists more than 250 controls and security features that need to be set up to process card numbers securely. These controls are divided into six groups:

• Build and maintain a secure network and system

• Protect card holders' data

• Maintain a vulnerability management programme

• Implement strong access control measures

• Regularly monitor and test networks

• Maintain an Information Security Policy

How to be PCI DSS compliant

PCI DSS compliance applies to the entire electronic payment platform, and is complied with by the merchant through its reliance on the PCI DSS-compliant building blocks that belong to its service provider. This means that each party involved in the platform's use complies with the standard's requirements that are relevant to its activities, and demonstrates this compliance to its customers.

In the context of our PCI DSS payment infrastructure, OVHcloud is responsible for the infrastructure's security, whilst you remain responsible for the security of the virtual machines we host, the use of virtual network features, and the application layers deployed on your virtual machines. In this way, PCI DSS compliance is a joint effort to combine your software and system platform's security measures with those of the OVHcloud Hosted Private Cloud infrastructure.

PCI DSS compliance can be certified with an Attestation of Compliance (AoC), drawn up after a self-assessment questionnaire has been completed, or after an audit has been performed by one or several QSA (Qualified Security Assessor) companies.

Your platform's compliance with the PCI DSS standard is a structured process, for which the characteristics and obligations depend on several factors:

• The number of transactions completed annually
• Type(s) of bank card(s) accepted
• Acquiring bank(s)
• Complexity of the electronic payment infrastructure

Becoming PCI DSS compliant involves approaching the parties concerned, to understand their precise expectations. OVHcloud recommends that you contact your acquiring bank and/or contact a QSA company to assist you with this process.

The OVHcloud platform undergoes annual audits by a QSA company. The audit documents are available for you to review, so that you can:

• Understand which requirements are covered by our certification
• Define the requirements you need to cover
• Show your QSA that all of the applicable requirements are acknowledged by OVHcloud, and are PCI DSS-compliant

OVHcloud can also help you achieve compliance, through the support of its team of experts, as well as the supporting documentation it offers:

• The creation of a PCI DSS responsibility assignment matrix
• Special conditions detailing OVHcloud's responsibilities
• A specifications template for performing the obligatory intrusion tests