Practical notes on PCI DSS, privacy law, security testing and audit, written by the team that does the work. Filter by topic, month or keyword.
Post-quantum cryptography: why your first step is a cryptographic inventory
NIST's post-quantum standards are final and Canada has a federal migration roadmap to 2035. Why the first step is a cryptographic inventory, and how PCI DSS requirements 4.2.1.1…
Read the insight →AI in the payment environment: what the PCI SSC’s new AI guidance means for your scope
The PCI SSC published Security Considerations for AI Systems on 2026-09-15. AI is scoped like any other technology. Where chatbots, agents and shadow AI pull systems into PCI…
Read the insight →You can’t lose what you don’t keep: reducing PCI scope by not storing card data
The most effective PCI DSS control is often the data you never hold. How hosted payment pages, tokenization and segmentation shrink your cardholder data environment, and the traps…
Read the insight →How a penetration test runs: from scoping to retest
What actually happens during a penetration test, step by step: scoping and authorization, reconnaissance, exploitation, reporting and the retest that PCI DSS requirement 11.4.4 expects.
Read the insight →PCI DSS v4.0.1: what the limited revision changed and what it did not
PCI DSS v4.0.1 clarified wording but added no new requirements. Here is what changed, what stayed the same, and what Canadian organizations should update now.
Read the insight →Multi-factor authentication for all access into the cardholder data environment: requirement 8.4.2 explained
Since 2025-03-31, PCI DSS requires MFA for all non-console access into the cardholder data environment, not only for administrators. Here is what that means in practice.
Read the insight →Targeted risk analysis under PCI DSS 4.x: what it is and how to write one
PCI DSS 4.x lets organizations set some control frequencies themselves if they justify them in a targeted risk analysis. Here is when you need one and how to…
Read the insight →Penetration testing vs vulnerability scanning vs ASV scans: what PCI DSS actually requires
Vulnerability scans, ASV scans and penetration tests are different activities with different PCI DSS rules. Here is what requirements 11.3 and 11.4 ask for, and how often.
Read the insight →Segmentation testing: why reducing PCI scope needs proof
Segmentation can shrink PCI DSS scope, but only with proof. Merchants must test it yearly and service providers every six months, plus after changes. Here is what that…
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