PCI Compliance

Master PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliance for secure payment processing and handling of cardholder data.

When to Use This Skill

• Building payment processing systems
• Handling credit card information
• Implementing secure payment flows
• Conducting PCI compliance audits
• Reducing PCI compliance scope
• Implementing tokenization and encryption
• Preparing for PCI DSS assessments

PCI DSS Requirements (12 Core Requirements)

Build and Maintain Secure Network

1. Install and maintain firewall configuration
2. Don't use vendor-supplied defaults for passwords

Protect Cardholder Data

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

Maintain Vulnerability Management

1. Protect systems against malware
2. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications

Implement Strong Access Control

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

Monitor and Test Networks

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

Maintain Information Security Policy

1. Maintain a policy that addresses information security

Compliance Levels

Level 1: > 6 million transactions/year (annual ROC required) Level 2: 1-6 million transactions/year (annual SAQ) Level 3: 20,000-1 million e-commerce transactions/year Level 4: < 20,000 e-commerce or < 1 million total transactions

Data Minimization (Never Store)

python
# NEVER STORE THESE
PROHIBITED_DATA = {
    'full_track_data': 'Magnetic stripe data',
    'cvv': 'Card verification code/value',
    'pin': 'PIN or PIN block'
}

# CAN STORE (if encrypted)
ALLOWED_DATA = {
    'pan': 'Primary Account Number (card number)',
    'cardholder_name': 'Name on card',
    'expiration_date': 'Card expiration',
    'service_code': 'Service code'
}

class PaymentData:
    """Safe payment data handling."""

    def __init__(self):
        self.prohibited_fields = ['cvv', 'cvv2', 'cvc', 'pin']

    def sanitize_log(self, data):
        """Remove sensitive data from logs."""
        sanitized = data.copy()

        # Mask PAN
        if 'card_number' in sanitized:
            card = sanitized['card_number']
            sanitized['card_number'] = f"{card[:6]}{'*' * (len(card) - 10)}{card[-4:]}"

        # Remove prohibited data
        for field in self.prohibited_fields:
            sanitized.pop(field, None)

        return sanitized

    def validate_no_prohibited_storage(self, data):
        """Ensure no prohibited data is being stored."""
        for field in self.prohibited_fields:
            if field in data:
                raise SecurityError(f"Attempting to store prohibited field: {field}")

Tokenization

Using Payment Processor Tokens

python
import stripe

class TokenizedPayment:
    """Handle payments using tokens (no card data on server)."""

    @staticmethod
    def create_payment_method_token(card_details):
        """Create token from card details (client-side only)."""
        # THIS SHOULD ONLY BE DONE CLIENT-SIDE WITH STRIPE.JS
        # NEVER send card details to your server

        """
        // Frontend JavaScript
        const stripe = Stripe('pk_...');

        const {token, error} = await stripe.createToken({
            card: {
                number: '4242424242424242',
                exp_month: 12,
                exp_year: 2024,
                cvc: '123'
            }
        });

        // Send token.id to server (NOT card details)
        """
        pass

    @staticmethod
    def charge_with_token(token_id, amount):
        """Charge using token (server-side)."""
        # Your server only sees the token, never the card number
        stripe.api_key = "sk_..."

        charge = stripe.Charge.create(
            amount=amount,
            currency="usd",
            source=token_id,  # Token instead of card details
            description="Payment"
        )

        return charge

    @staticmethod
    def store_payment_method(customer_id, payment_method_token):
        """Store payment method as token for future use."""
        stripe.Customer.modify(
            customer_id,
            source=payment_method_token
        )

        # Store only customer_id and payment_method_id in your database
        # NEVER store actual card details
        return {
            'customer_id': customer_id,
            'has_payment_method': True
            # DO NOT store: card number, CVV, etc.
        }

Custom Tokenization (Advanced)

python
import secrets
from cryptography.fernet import Fernet

class TokenVault:
    """Secure token vault for card data (if you must store it)."""

    def __init__(self, encryption_key):
        self.cipher = Fernet(encryption_key)
        self.vault = {}  # In production: use encrypted database

    def tokenize(self, card_data):
        """Convert card data to token."""
        # Generate secure random token
        token = secrets.token_urlsafe(32)

        # Encrypt card data
        encrypted = self.cipher.encrypt(json.dumps(card_data).encode())

        # Store token -> encrypted data mapping
        self.vault[token] = encrypted

        return token

    def detokenize(self, token):
        """Retrieve card data from token."""
        encrypted = self.vault.get(token)
        if not encrypted:
            raise ValueError("Token not found")

        # Decrypt
        decrypted = self.cipher.decrypt(encrypted)
        return json.loads(decrypted.decode())

    def delete_token(self, token):
        """Remove token from vault."""
        self.vault.pop(token, None)

Encryption

Data at Rest

python
from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers.aead import AESGCM
import os

class EncryptedStorage:
    """Encrypt data at rest using AES-256-GCM."""

    def __init__(self, encryption_key):
        """Initialize with 256-bit key."""
        self.key = encryption_key  # Must be 32 bytes

    def encrypt(self, plaintext):
        """Encrypt data."""
        # Generate random nonce
        nonce = os.urandom(12)

        # Encrypt
        aesgcm = AESGCM(self.key)
        ciphertext = aesgcm.encrypt(nonce, plaintext.encode(), None)

        # Return nonce + ciphertext
        return nonce + ciphertext

    def decrypt(self, encrypted_data):
        """Decrypt data."""
        # Extract nonce and ciphertext
        nonce = encrypted_data[:12]
        ciphertext = encrypted_data[12:]

        # Decrypt
        aesgcm = AESGCM(self.key)
        plaintext = aesgcm.decrypt(nonce, ciphertext, None)

        return plaintext.decode()

# Usage
storage = EncryptedStorage(os.urandom(32))
encrypted_pan = storage.encrypt("4242424242424242")
# Store encrypted_pan in database

Data in Transit

python
# Always use TLS 1.2 or higher
# Flask/Django example
app.config['SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE'] = True  # HTTPS only
app.config['SESSION_COOKIE_HTTPONLY'] = True
app.config['SESSION_COOKIE_SAMESITE'] = 'Strict'

# Enforce HTTPS
from flask_talisman import Talisman
Talisman(app, force_https=True)

Additional patterns and templates

More detailed templates and worked examples live in references/details.md. Read that file for the full pattern library.