Complying with the PCI DSS standard is essential for keeping your customers' card details safe. In order to ensure compliance across your organisation, you will need to train your end users in keeping up data security.
Here's your guide to PCI Awareness Training.
- What is PCI Awareness Training?
- What should be included in PCI Awareness Training?
- How should PCI Awareness Training be carried out?
- When should PCI Awareness Training take place?
What is PCI Awareness Training?
Payment Card Industry (PCI) Awareness Training is the education of end users on what is required from them to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. The PCI DSS standard was created by card companies to promote the security of card data, and by complying with the standard you help minimise the risk of a costly breach of customer payment details.
What should be included in PCI Awareness Training?
PCI Awareness Training should include information on what the PCI DSS is and why complying with it is important. In addition, there are a number of other practical topics that should be included so your end users know how to actually protect customer payment information in their day-to-day work life.
You should also consider including training on topics ranging from phishing to email security to help prevent customer card details from being breached through your online systems, as well as training on physical security to protect customer payment information in physical form.
How should PCI Awareness Training be carried out?
PCI Awareness Training should be carried out in a way that is easy for your end users to digest and remember. They should be able to walk away with actionable steps on how they can protect your customers' payment details.
You could carry out training through a company-wide lecture accompanied with a slide-show presentation. This allows you to train all users at once, and easily tick the compliance check box. However, users are unlikely to stay engaged for the duration of a long session, and if the training isn't repeated regularly, they are likely to forget what they were supposed to learn.
Carrying out your training through online material will help you keep users engaged by letting them take training when it is most convenient to them. This will also allow the training to make use of video and interactive content, as well as follow-up questions that promote retention of learning material.
When should PCI Awareness Training take place?
Your organisation needs to protect your customers' card details throughout the year, and so training should also take place throughout the year. By breaking down training into small, easily-digestible components, you can send out training on a monthly basis and ensure that your end users are always thinking and learning about their security responsibilities.
Your one-stop-shop for PCI Compliance
The usecure platform contains an engaging library of courses on all core information security awareness topics, as well as accessible courses on the PCI DSS standard.
You can enrol your users to regular training programme with just a few clicks - and make use of the first-in-class reporting to always know how your end users are progressing through their training journeys.
usecure also includes a simplified policy management solution and automated phishing simulations - letting you cover all sides of PCI Security Awareness from one platform.
