Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), created by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, JCB, and American Express, is a set of security requirements. Organizations that accept credit cards must comply with 12 PCI DSS requirements as it protects cardholder data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
The most recent version, PCI DSS v4.0, was released in March 2022. Some of its requirements will go into effect in March 2024, while most of the requirements will go into effect in March 2025. The change from PCI DSS v3.2.1 to v4.0 represents a shift from a directive approach to a more flexible, results-oriented framework.
PCI DSS is essential since it protects customers' credit card data from ever-evolving threats. With data breaches growing more expensive both monetarily and in terms of reputation, PCI DSS enables enterprises to minimize the risk of a data breach and uphold data privacy.