PCI DSS Compliance

6 Interactive Sessions

Short, interactive sessions: watch it work, try it, then build it yourself. You can go deeper at any time in the written chapters.

1. 1

   What PCI DSS is and who sets the rules

   PCI DSS is a security standard written by the card brands to protect card data. Your bank makes it part of your contract, and it applies as soon as you store, process or send card data.

2. 2

   Keep card data in a small corner

   PCI DSS covers the systems that handle card data and the systems connected to them, called the cardholder data environment (CDE). The smaller you keep that area, the less work PCI DSS is.

3. 3

   The 12 requirements in six groups

   The 12 requirements of PCI DSS fall into 6 goals, and most of them are security basics you may already run: access control, encryption, logging, patching and a written policy, made specific for card data.

4. 4

   Prove it with real evidence

   Being PCI DSS compliant is something you prove. You use the right method, a questionnaire or an assessor's report, and back it with dated records that show your controls really run.

5. 5

   Find your gaps before you validate

   A gap assessment is an honest self-check against the 12 requirements before you validate. You rate each one in place, partial or missing. Shrink your scope first, because a requirement that no longer applies to a system is a gap you never have to close.

6. 6

   Stay compliant all year

   PCI DSS is a program that runs all year. Scope, controls, scans and validation each come round on a schedule, so the yearly check describes what is already true.

How this certificate is scored

Your certificate shows how many of your written answers met the rubric below, checked by an AI grader. Anyone who checks your certificate sees it.

• You answer 6 short questions, one for each module, in your own words (at least 40 words each).
• An AI grader checks each answer against what its module asks for: it must answer the question, use the course's practice case specifically, and be correct.
• To pass, at least 5 of the 6 answers must meet that bar. The certificate says the answers were graded by AI.

The rubric

1. Module 1, What PCI DSS Actually Is: A correct model: a card-brand standard enforced contractually, not a law or a certificate.
2. Module 2, The Cardholder Data Environment & Scope Reduction: A scoped CDE, shrunk with segmentation, tokenization, or a processor.
3. Module 3, The 12 Requirements: The 12 requirements mapped to the 6 goals and your systems.
4. Module 4, Validation & Evidence: The right validation path (SAQ/ROC) backed by scans, tests, and real artifacts.
5. Module 5, The Gap Assessment: A self-assessment rating each requirement and a scope-first remediation roadmap.
6. Module 6, Staying Compliant: A continuous PCI program: annual validation, quarterly scans, no scope drift.

What you walk away with