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.
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 →Most breaches still start with a known weakness: scanning and patching under PCI DSS 4.0.1
Vulnerability exploitation is now the leading way into a breach. Here is how PCI DSS 4.0.1 links risk ranking (6.3.1), patch deadlines (6.3.3) and internal and external scanning…
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 →Which PCI self-assessment questionnaire applies to you? A plain guide for small merchants
A plain-language guide to choosing the right PCI DSS Self-Assessment Questionnaire, including the 2025 changes to SAQ A for e-commerce merchants using embedded payment forms.
Read the insight →What to record in your Law 25 confidentiality incident register (and how long to keep it)
Every confidentiality incident must be logged under Law 25, reported or not. Here are the eight elements your register needs and the five-year retention rule.
Read the insight →The ISO 27001:2013 transition is over: what certified organizations should do now
The deadline to move to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 passed on 2025-10-31. Here is what that means for your certificate, your customers and your next surveillance audit.
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 →Privacy impact assessments under Law 25: when you need one and what goes in it
Law 25 requires a privacy impact assessment for new information systems, transfers outside Quebec and some research uses. Here is when it applies and what a proportionate PIA…
Read the insight →Webinars, conference talks and private sessions on PCI DSS, privacy law and cybersecurity, in English and French.
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