The PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) has always contained provisions for external vulnerability assessments carried out by PCI Certified Scanning Vendors (ASVs), and these provisions have also been part of previous versions of certain Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQs). For PCI DSS v4.x, the need for external vulnerability assessments by an ASV was incorporated into SAQ A to tackle increasing breaches that target SAQ A merchant environments.
This fresh resource handbook is aimed at individuals seeking information regarding ASV assessments, concentrating on SAQ A merchants who are navigating PCI DSS Requirement 11.3.2 for the first time.
ASV assessment standards in SAQ A are pertinent solely to an e-commerce merchant system(s) that houses the webpage which either 1) forwards payment transactions to a PCI DSS compliant third-party service provider (TPSP) or 2) includes an embedded payment page/form from a PCI DSS compliant TPSP. The objective is for merchants to decrease the likelihood of compromise by identifying and rectifying vulnerabilities that could potentially expose their connection to the TPSP’s payment page.
This resource handbook from the PCI Security Standards Council provides important deliberations, educational materials, and frequently asked questions to enhance the comprehension of PCI DSS Requirement 11.3.2, which mandates proof of successful external evaluations, conducted by an ASV, at least once every three months.
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