What It Is

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a contractual security framework managed by the PCI Security Standards Council. It mandates technical and operational controls to protect cardholder data (CHD) and sensitive authentication data (SAD) for merchants and service providers handling payment cards. Structured as a control-based approach with 12 requirements under 6 objectives, it focuses on risk mitigation through scoping the cardholder data environment (CDE).

Key Components

• 12 requirements spanning network security, data protection, vulnerability management, access controls, monitoring, and policy maintenance.
• Over 300 sub-requirements with testing procedures.
• Compliance via SAQ for smaller entities or ROC by QSAs; 4 merchant levels by transaction volume.
• v4.0 adds customized approaches, MFA emphasis, and third-party risk.

Why Organizations Use It

Drives contractual compliance to avoid fines, card-processing bans, and breach costs ($37/record avg.). Enhances fraud reduction, customer trust, and operational maturity. Essential for payment-handling entities globally.

Implementation Overview

Phased: scope CDE, gap analysis, remediate controls, validate via scans/pentests. Applies to all sizes handling CHD; costs $5K-$200K+. Requires ongoing quarterly ASV scans, annual audits.

What It Is

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a U.S. federal regulation (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) protecting privacy of student education records at federally funded institutions. It grants parents/eligible students rights to access, amend, and control PII disclosures via consent rules with exceptions, using a rights-based, operationally specific approach.

Key Components

• Rights: inspect/review (45 days), amend inaccurate records, consent to disclosures.
• Definitions: broad education records, expansive PII (direct/indirect/linkable identifiers).
• Disclosures: consent default, exceptions (school officials/LEI, emergencies, directory info).
• Obligations: annual notices, disclosure logs, vendor controls. No certification; funding-based enforcement.

Why Organizations Use It

• Mandatory for federal fund recipients to avoid penalties.
• Builds stakeholder trust, mitigates breach risks, enables safe edtech/vendor use.
• Supports operations like transfers, audits while managing privacy risks.

Implementation Overview

Phased program: governance, data inventory/classification, policies/training, RBAC/logging, vendor DPAs. For U.S. K-12/postsecondary; self-audit via complaints/FPCO.