Am-I Merchant or Service provider for PCI DSS?

PCI DSS 3.2.1 PCI today 171 119 4

Background
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A merchant is defined as any entity that accepts payment cards from the five brands (American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, or Visa)

The PCI Security Standards Council defines a service provider as a Business entity that is not a payment brand, directly involved in the processing, storage, or transmission of cardholder data. This also includes companies that provide services that control or could impact the security of cardholder data.

Note that a merchant that accepts payment cards as payment for goods and/or services can also be a service provider, if the services sold result in storing, processing, or transmitting cardholder data on behalf of other merchants or service providers. For example, an ISP is a merchant that accepts payment cards for monthly billing, but also is a service provider if it hosts merchants as customers

As a merchant, you are required to be compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a set of comprehensive requirements developed by the major card brands to facilitate the adoption of consistent data security measures.

The core of PCI DSS is a group of principles and accompanying requirements, around which the specific elements of the DSS are organized:

Build and Maintain a Secure Network

  • Requirement 1 – Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
  • Requirement 2 – Do not use vendor–supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters

Protect Cardholder Data

  • Requirement 3 – Protect stored cardholder data
  • Requirement 4 – Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks

Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program

  • Requirement 5 – Use and regularly update anti–virus software
  • Requirement 6 – Develop and maintain secure systems and applications

Implement Strong Access Control Measures

  • Requirement 7 – Restrict access to cardholder data by business need–to–know
  • Requirement 8 – Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
  • Requirement 9 – Restrict physical access to cardholder data

Regularly Monitor and Test Networks

  • Requirement 10 – Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
  • Requirement 11 – Regularly test security systems and processes

Maintain an Information Security Policy

  • Requirement 12 – Maintain a policy that addresses information security

PCI Validation Requirements

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