Blog

SIEM Technology for PCI DSS Compliance

15.03.2022 Read
siem pci compliance

We are living in the height of technology with no sign of stopping any time soon. Technology has access to so much of our personal information, habits, and decisions.

However, we are also living in a time of accountability and compliance, in response to so much power being acquired by Big Tech. But compliance doesn’t just affect tech giants. Now there are global policies that apply to everyone from local small businesses to multi-million dollar firms.

Protecting customers’ information is no longer optional. It is a legal expectation due to the emergence of policies ensuring protection standards. This trend has led companies to incorporate best practices of cyber security into their operations.

This is where Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) software comes in. SIEM technology provides threat management with a detailed and centralized view of enterprise security. This is essential for organizations that need solutions to ensure PCI DSS compliance.

First, we need to understand what PCI DSS means and what it entails. This will give us insights into what type of cyber security solutions are needed to ensure compliance.

What is PCI DSS?

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is the international standard for protecting card owner data from malicious use or theft. It was developed to encourage and improve cardholder data security, as well as facilitate the global adoption of consistent data security measures.
secure data collection

The PCI DSS applies to any entity involved in payment card processing. This includes merchants, processors, acquirers, issuers, and service providers. The PCI DSS also applies to all other entities that store, process or transmit cardholder data (CHD) and/or sensitive authentication data (SAD).

The PCI DSS is made up of a minimum set of requirements for protecting account data and can be enhanced by additional practices, including local, regional, and sector regulations, to further mitigate risks.

The PCI DSS Requirements and Security Assessment Procedures combines 12 requirements and corresponding testing procedures into a security assessment tool. It is designed for use during PCI DSS compliance assessments as part of an entity’s validation process.

SIEM Compliance Requirements of PCI DSS

Build and Maintain a Secure Network and Systems

  1. Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
  2. Refrain use of vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords or other security parameters

Protect Cardholder Data

  1. Protect stored cardholder data
  2. Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks

Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program

  1. Protect all systems against malware and regularly update anti-virus software or programs
  2. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications

Implement Strong Access Control Measures

  1. Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know
  2. Identify and authenticate access to system components
  3. Restrict physical access to cardholder data

Regularly Monitor and Test Networks

  1. Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
  2. Regularly test security systems and processes

Maintain an Information Security Policy

  1. Maintain a policy that addresses information security for all personnel

siem pci compliance

Ensure Compliance with SIEM Solution

To ensure successful compliance audits, every access to information logs and reports must be monitored and examined in real-time.

SIEM not only improves cyber threat detection and incident response, but it is also essential for compliance.

  • SIEM can secure PCI compliance with the following:
  • Real-time threat detection;
  • Production and data systems;
  • User credentials;
  • Perimeter security; and
  • Auditing and reporting

Let’s look at more specific ways that you can use SIEM to your advantage to keep in line with PCI DSS compliance.

Detecting Compromised User

Modern SIEM software can track user activities to prevent, detect, and minimize the impact of compromised data. For example, Logsign SIEM tools can identify abnormal behavior of users through correlation. Logsign SIEM use cases create alerts to warn IT managers in case of access to extraordinary data or systems at suspicious hours.

Detecting Suspicious Privileged Authorization Increase

One of the main targets of SIEM PCI compliance should be to detect privileged user account accesses promptly. Logsign SIEM immediately identifies users that increase authorization for critical systems.

Command and Control (C&C) Communication

To detect a compromised user account, SIEM must be able to discover external attackers. Logsign SIEM can associate network traffic with the Cyber Intelligence Module to locate malware that communicates with external attackers.

Detecting Secure Data Leakage

SIEM software can detect when data has been leaked. For example, Logsign provides a Correlation and Cyber Threat Intelligence (TI) service to analyze incidents that may seem unrelated. Examples include a USB disc driver adding and processing information, personal email services, or cloud storage services, and creating high data traffic through a local network.

Rapid Ciphering

Abnormal movements on user data may be a ransomware attack, so it’s important that SIEM software detect rapid ciphering of the data on user systems.

Detecting Lateral Movements

Lateral Movements are techniques that cyber attackers use to progressively move through a network as they search for key data and assets to target in their attack campaigns. And they can be detected via alert rules created based on the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

Solution: Logsign SIEM

Although SIEM technology is needed for all of the above-mentioned precautions, not every SIEM software can. Find a SIEM solution that covers the entire compliance process for you.

Logsign SIEM provides a single platform to automate PCI DSS compliance needs. You can benefit from all the advantages of easy compliance reporting with high-level reports while updated versions meet all requirements.

For PCI DSS audit requirements, Logsign allows continuous logging, monitoring, backing up, and reporting for all network connections and changes made to firewall and router configurations. As mandated by PCI, Logsign SIEM securely collects logs to manage, analyze and store log data.

Check out Logsign’s SIEM technology and finally transfer the workload of PCI DSS compliance out of your hands.

A vast library of integrations and free services on demand
See All Integrations
See Logsign Unified SO Platform in action!
Watch Demo