PCI DSS compliance is obligatory for all entities processing cardholder information, together with your third-party distributors. Safety experiences present a window right into a vendor’s info safety program, uncovering their safety controls technique and its alignment with laws just like the PCI DSS. In lots of instances, companies might select to change into PCI-certified to show their compliance with PCI DSS necessities.
The next template provides you with a high-level understanding of every vendor’s diploma of compliance with PCI DSS and uncover potential compliance gaps requiring deeper investigation.
To get probably the most worth from this submit, remember to obtain the accompanying editable template.
26 Vendor Questions for Evaluating PCI DSS Compliance in 2025
These questions will enable you to consider how every vendor’s threat profile impacts your alignment with the requirements of PCI DSS. To learn the way these questions map to the necessities of the newest model of PCI DSS (model 4), check with this information on complying with PCI DSS 4.0.
Qualifying query: Specify the class of the fee service you supply.
Vendor to decide on an choice from the listing under.
Cost Software Vendor – Supply and supply help for purposes that handle, deal with, or switch information associated to cardholders.Cost Terminal Distributors / Cost Resolution Distributors – Supply and supply help for gadgets or options, reminiscent of fee terminals or encryption options, which might be utilized for accepting card funds.Cost Processors / E-commerce Cost Service Suppliers / Cost Gateways / Contact Facilities – Deal with, handle, or switch cardholder information in your behalf.E-commerce Internet hosting Suppliers – Present internet hosting and administration providers to your e-commerce server/web site and develop and help your web site.Suppliers of Software program as a Service / Cloud-Primarily based Internet hosting Supplier – Supply providers to develop, host, and/or handle your net software or fee software (e.g., on-line ticketing or reserving software) within the cloud.Integrators / Resellers – Arrange and configure service provider fee techniques.
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Word: The PCI Knowledge Safety Customary solely applies to the underside 4 class factors on this listing. Cost software distributors should adjust to the Cost Software Knowledge Safety Customary (PA-DSS). The PIN Transaction Safety (PTS) and PCI Level-to-Level Encryption requirements apply to fee terminal distributors/fee answer distributors.Query 1: Does the answer/product you supply securely acquire and transmit fee card info?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Obtain this template as an editable PDF.
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Inside notice:
For card-not-present suppliers, together with e-commerce and phone order suppliers, you may examine whether or not the next bank card manufacturers embrace them of their listing of compliant service suppliers.
Query 2: Do you retailer fee card info inside my techniques, reminiscent of in my bodily retailer/store places, net software, or e-commerce web site?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Query 3: Should you answered “yes” to query 2, clarify how your product/service protects this information.Vendor to supply an in depth response.Query 4: Does your product/service make the most of strong encryption to make sure fee card information safety throughout transmission?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Inside notice:For fee terminals & built-in fee terminals – You possibly can examine if the seller is understood for utilizing a point-to-point encryption answer by referencing this listing.
Learn to put together for a PCI DSS audit >
Query 5: Do you employ a safe model of Transport Layer Safety (TLS) to make sure the safety of transmitted fee card information?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Inside notice:
This query solely applies to hosted e-commerce web sites, net purposes, or fee purposes.
Query 6: Does your answer should be built-in with any of my different techniques or information facilities?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Inside notice:
Some examples of related info techniques/sectors the third-party answer may require integration with embrace:
Cost terminals.Accounts receivable.Any techniques/accounts with entry to cardholder information.
Ideally, the seller answer is standalone or requires few connections with different inside techniques. Such segmented options are simpler to safe and defend from compromise if a community is breached.
If the seller does require integrations along with your different techniques, you’ll need to judge whether or not they present larger worth than the influence of their safety dangers in your safety posture. That is greatest achieved by evaluating their threat publicity towards your threat urge for food.
Learn to calculate your threat urge for food >
Query 7: Do it is advisable set up a fee software or system in my IT setting?YesNo (skip to query 11)Vendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Query 8: If an set up is required, will you carry out the set up?NoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Query 9: Should you answered “yes” to query 7, are you a PCI Certified Integrator or Reseller?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.
Discover out if it is advisable rent knowledgeable to change into PCI DSS compliant >
Query 10: Should you answered “no” to query 7, is my safety workforce anticipated to put in it?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Inside notice:
The method of putting in any third-party fee processor purposes in your techniques shouldn’t simply fall in your shoulders. If the seller’s software(s) isn’t put in appropriately, it may put you at a heightened threat of a PCI DSS violation or an information breach as a consequence of a misconfiguration.
Ideally, the seller ought to set up the applying themselves in a compliant method by exercising their experience as a PCI Certified Integrator (QIR). Wanting this, the seller ought to provide your safety groups with an implementation information that meets the next necessities on the very least. These factors are queried in questions 10 to fifteen under.
Particulars about tips on how to substitute default techniques passwords with advanced ones.Particulars about managing safety patches and updates.A delineation of any remote-access software program that will likely be used to entry your corporation.Details about your position throughout such distant connections.Query 11: Will you supply help throughout the set up or setup strategy of the product/answer for altering all default passwords?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Query 12: What help and steerage will you supply my enterprise all through the patching/updating course of?Vendor to supply an in depth response.Query 13: Are patches and updates routinely supplied and put in?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Query 14: Am I required to amass and set up these patches/updates myself?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Query 15: How will you notify me when patches/updates can be found or have been routinely applied?YesNoVendor to supply extra particulars.Inside notice:
And not using a system for often checking for and implementing safety patches, the third-party answer will likely be susceptible to information breaches, which will increase your threat of struggling a pricey PCI DSS non-compliance violation. Ideally, the third-party vendor ought to notify your safety groups when a brand new safety patch is on the market and supply steerage for the set up course of.
To make sure the seller is totally conscious of your due diligence expectations, embrace particulars of your notification expectations of their contract.Query 16: Do you assume the duty of patching/updating your answer?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Inside notice:
This query is most related to hosted e-commerce web sites, net purposes, or fee purposes.
Query 17: Will you, at any time, require distant entry to enterprise to supply help to your product/service?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Inside notice:
Any type of third-party distant connection is a possible assault vector that, if exploited, may lead to an information breach. As such, these occasions needs to be considered crucial cybersecurity dangers which might be prioritized in monitoring efforts.
Ideally, all distant third-party connections needs to be denied; the chance of malicious interception is way too important. Nevertheless, when distant entry is required for product help, these classes can happen in a way that’s each PCI compliant and fewer vulnerable to exploitation if the next PCI DSS necessities are met:
Distant classes are restricted to the shortest interval required to finish a help job.Distant entry is totally disabled when not in use.Multi-Issue Authentication is used to confirm the identities of all customers from the third-party firm making an attempt a distant connection.Usually replace usernames and passwords for distant connection classes.Query 18: Will your product be operating out of your techniques which might be owned and maintained by your organization?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Inside Word:
This query is relevant if the third-party vendor is a service supplier.
Query 19: Should you answered “yes” to query 15, is your setting PCI DSS compliant?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Inside Word
This query is relevant if the third-party vendor is a service supplier.
Query 20: Should you answered “yes” to query 15, do your PCI DSS assessments cowl all of the providers you supply me?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Inside Word
This query is relevant if the third-party vendor is a service supplier. If you wish to have faith within the high quality of the PCI DSS evaluation this vendor makes use of, think about using a Vendor Danger Administration answer with an in-built third-party evaluation module, reminiscent of Cybersecurity.
A preview of Cybersecurity’s vendor questionnaire library.
Study Cybersecurity’s Safety Questionnaire answer >
Query 21: What monitoring options are in place for detecting suspicious exercise previous an information breach?Vendor to supply an in depth response.Query 22: What’s your anticipated timeframe for notifying me in case your product/answer is compromised in an information breach?Vendor to supply an in depth response.Query 23: Ought to my firm obtain a PCI DSS violation penalty as a consequence of your product/service, will you supply help/safety?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Query 24: Do you’ve a cyber insurance coverage coverage masking breaches associated to your product/service?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Inside Word
An information breach insurance coverage coverage demonstrates the third-party vendor takes its cybersecurity posture very significantly. If the seller does have information breach insurance coverage, ask them to supply particulars in regards to the scope of the protection.
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Query 25: If I undergo a breach as a consequence of your product/service appearing as an assault vector, will you help within the notification of all my impacted prospects?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.Inside Word
If the seller doesn’t plan to supply notification help, your safety workforce ought to work with them to design a buyer notification protocol within the occasion cardholder information is compromised. This protocol needs to be added to your Incident Response Plan.
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Query 26: Should you answered “yes” to query 21, will you supply credit score monitoring for all impacted prospects?YesNoVendor to help their reply with extra particulars.How Cybersecurity Helps Compliance with PCI DSS
The Cybersecurity platform features a PCI DSS compliance questionnaire that identifies compliance gaps based mostly on vendor responses.
Cybersecurity’s PCI DSS safety questiionniare.
With this vendor threat evaluation answer inside a Vendor Danger Administration program, safety groups can go all recognized dangers by means of a whole VRM lifecycle, protecting third-party safety postures resilient towards information breach makes an attempt and PCI DSS violations.
