PCI compliance is not a one-time task; it’s an ongoing commitment that requires copious knowledge on the intricate and dynamic topic of cybersecurity. Herein lies the importance of a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA). A QSA serves as a PCI guide, entrusted with evaluating and ensuring adherence to PCI compliance so that your organization’s focus and attention can remain fixed on its business goals. However, the value of a QSA extends far beyond the scope of mere validation; they also facilitate a level of PCI compliance that fortifies data security, helps you enhance customer trust, safeguards brand reputation, and helps you mitigate the risk of costly data breaches and regulatory penalties. Due to this multi-dimensional value, QSAs are considered essential in the world of PCI.
However, not all QSAs bring equal value to an organization. How do you choose the right QSA for your business? Below are several factors to consider when you need a QSA to help you improve your security posture and guide you down an optimal path to PCI compliance.
Experience and Expertise
Experience and expertise are critical factors when selecting a QSA. PCI regulations are complex, making it vital to partner with a PCI professional with a wealth of practical knowledge in compliance assessments. Moreover, experienced QSAs tend to have established relationships with regulatory bodies and industry stakeholders, which can facilitate smoother compliance processes and resolution of any compliance-related issues. It’s also essential to seek out assessors with relevant industry experience, as it will help you find a QSA with a nuanced understanding of your unique challenges, fostering a more tailored and effective compliance approach.
Drummond QSAs have a wealth of PCI experience and expertise you can leverage to help ensure you have an efficient compliance process. Our QSAs provide the insights needed to support swift issue resolution.
Certifications and Accreditations
During the QSA selection process, the importance of certifications and accreditations can’t be overstated. This is because certifications and accreditations can help validate a QSA’s proficiency, acting as key indicators of the assessor’s PCI knowledge, skills, and competency in effectively evaluating an organization’s payment card environment. In fact, all QSAs must attain at least one information-security based certification and one audit-based certification prior to even receiving their official PCI SSC QSA certification.
It’s important to ensure that your QSA’s certifications are up to date as most accreditations require QSAs to undergo rigorous training, examination, and ongoing education to maintain their credentials. This ensures that QSAs stay updated on the latest developments in PCI standards, emerging threats, and cybersecurity trends, allowing them to offer informed guidance and recommendations to organizations. Here are some of the certifications you should look for when selecting a QSA:
- PCI SSC QSA Certification: QSAs must be certified by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). This is the official certification for being a QSA, demonstrating one’s understanding of PCI DSS requirements and their ability to conduct assessments accurately.
- CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional): This certification is widely recognized in information security and indicates a strong understanding of security principles, including those relevant to PCI compliance.
- CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor): This certification validates expertise in auditing, control, and assurance of information systems. It’s valuable for QSAs as PCI compliance assessments involve auditing and assurance activities.
The experts at Drummond hold the following certifications:
- PCI SSC (PCI Security Standard Council Certification)
- CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor)
- ISO 27001 LA (Certified ISO 27001 Lead Auditor)
- CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)
- CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)
- CREST (Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers)
- OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional)
Comprehensive Service Offering
Selecting a QSA that offers a comprehensive range of services is critical. Your QSA should be able to assess your organization’s payment card environment, employing methods like on-site audits, interviews, and meticulous documentation reviews. Moreover, a highly qualified QSA should be proficient in conducting gap analyses and identifying areas where current security measures fall short of PCI requirements. This enables organizations to prioritize remediation efforts and fortify their security posture. They should also offer services tied to policy and procedure development, ensuring that organizations have a comprehensive file of PCI documentation.
Overall, a highly valuable QSA should possess the expertise to help you holistically navigate PCI compliance, including, but not limited to, security architecture, design reviews, penetration testing, security awareness training, ongoing compliance support, and incident response and forensics.
Drummond offers a comprehensive range of PCI and other cybersecurity related services to help our customers navigate the intricate world of PCI compliance no matter where they are in their compliance journey:
PCI
- Compliance Assessment
- Gap Analysis
- SAQ Validation
- Custom QSA Engagements
- Tailored Continuous Compliance Support
Security
- Risk Assessments
- Penetration Testing
- Vulnerability Scanning
- Code Review
- Red Teaming
- Social Engineering
- Patch Management & Remediation
Reputation and References
Researching the reputation of a QSA and seeking references from past clients is one of the most essential steps to take when selecting a QSA. While experience and accreditation are important factors when assessing a QSA’s skill level, they only act as prospective indicators of a QSAs abilities. Reputation on the other hand can act as a form of social proof, which when combined with a QSAs experience and certification can help provide a highly accurate assessment of a QSAs potential abilities and impact on your organization.
“Even as priorities shifted in response to a global pandemic, AWWA knew we could not be distracted from our commitment to the security of our customer’s data. Drummond was flexible in giving us just the help we needed to renew our PCI compliance”
The Bottom Line
The journey to selecting a QSA is laden with crucial considerations that can profoundly impact an organization’s security posture and compliance. As organizations go through their decision-making processes, they need to avoid selecting a QSA based on haste or convenience but instead on critical factors like QSA experience, certifications, service offerings, and reputation. Doing so will increase one’s chances of partnering with a highly qualified QSA, which is crucial to creating a robust PCI compliance framework that helps your organization mitigate risk and maximize returns.