It’s crucial that any company handling consumer cardholder information, including card numbers, protect that information from any and every unauthorized user. The PCI Security Standards Council has determined that to promote security and usability, it’s not enough to secure a system perimeter and encrypt data. Instead, companies have to approach data obfuscation through a series of requirements that protect it from theft while allowing the company to utilize it for regular commercial purposes. 

Here, we’ll discuss Primary Account Numbers (PAN) and how you must protect them under PCI DSS.

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The continual news of state-sponsored hackers attacking U.S. infrastructure has led the general public to better understand that digital security is a critical part of our overall national security. Digital systems aren’t isolated to high-tech companies–instead, cybersecurity touches on almost every aspect of our lives, particularly energy and utility management.

The U.S. government was already ahead of this curve and, starting in the 1990s, began implementing government regulations (in partnership with private companies) to protect the country’s electrical infrastructure. This led to the North America Electric Reliability Corporation Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP) requirements. 

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Over the past few weeks, we’ve discussed what it means to consider risk as part of an overall compliance strategy. We’ve emphasized throughout that risk doesn’t have to be an abstract pursuit–it can be a comprehensive part of compliance and security that uses the realities of regulations and frameworks to drive decision-making (and vice-versa). 

One of the approaches to risk and compliance that many organizations are seeing pop up in regulations is the concept of “maturity.” Maturity can mean a lot of different things, depending on the context. 

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