How MDR (Managed Detection & Response) helps with PCI DSS compliance

August 31, 2022

Managed detection and risk (MDR) image

A Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service makes PCI DSS compliance more robust and easier to maintain. In this article, we overview some of the main reasons why and explain why you might want to consider an MDR service if you are a Level 1 or Level 2 merchant or Service provider.

Why MDR for PCI compliance?

MDR services reinforce an organisation’s internal security controls to optimise threat detection and enable rapid, proactive identification and mitigation of threats before they can manifest into full-scale cyber attacks.

They deliver live 24/7 monitoring of the organisation’s environment and full recording of all logs. This is achieved through a SIEM (Security Information and Event Monitoring) solution and has many benefits that are crucial to PCI DSS compliance.

  • They decrease your vulnerability to a cyber breach (and non-compliance)
  • They provide full log monitoring to deliver against PCI DSS Requirement 10
  • They provide full reporting needed for the annual assessment
  • They future-proof you against upcoming PCI DSS v4
  • They save you money

Let’s look at these in more detail.

MDR decreases your vulnerability to a cyber breach (and non-compliance)

The core purpose of an MDR service is to make your organisation more secure. This is crucial because a data breach will immediately make your organisation non-compliant with PCI DSS. You will then need to go through a costly and time-consuming process in order to become PCI DSS compliant again. In the meantime, you will face significant fines for being non-compliant.

MDR provides full log monitoring to deliver against PCI DSS Requirement 10

There are 12 requirements of PCI DSS compliance and the tenth of these concerns logging and monitoring. Specifically, Requirement 10 states you must ‘track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data’.

In order to avoid, detect, or lessen the effects of a data compromise, it is essential to have logging mechanisms and the ability to monitor user activity. Without system activity logs, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to identify the cause of a compromise.

A good MDR service will include a SIEM solution that will provide the exact logging and monitoring required by PCI DSS Requirement 10.

MDR will meet your PCI DSS reporting requirements

Beyond the specific needs of Requirement 10, as detailed above, an MDR service will bring together a variety of important tools such as file integrity monitoring (FIM), user access requirements and more into a single centralised solution.

This makes the relevant information much easier to access and considerably speeds up the time required to prepare for PCI DSS and the annual assessment.

MDR future-proofs you against PCI DSS V4

PCI DSS has undergone significant changes with the introduction of PCI DSS V4.0.

The log monitoring requirements are more demanding than the current PCI DSS 3.2.1 and make the arguments for an MDR service considerably more compelling.

MDR saves you money on PCI DSS compliance

If you are a Level 1 or Level 2 merchant or service provider, PCI DSS compliance can require significant time and money to maintain.

As the above explanations make clear, an MDR service should make it much easier to demonstrate compliance with key aspects of the requirements. It does this as an outsourced service, meaning no additional internal resourcing or expertise is required.

Because an MDR will also make a data breach less likely, the considerable costs of non-compliance are much more likely to be avoided.

Finally, if the worst happens and something does go wrong, an MDR service will enable you to identify the issues and put things right with minimal cost or downtime.

Sound like MDR might help with your PCI DSS Compliance?

If you are a PCI Level 1/Level 2 merchant or a payment card service provider data processor, an MDR service is likely to make a lot of sense.

Securious is a PCI QSA company so we have an MDR service that is specifically designed to meet the requirements of clients needing PCI DSS compliance.

If you’d like to learn more, get in touch using the contact form below.