Free Practice Questions for PCI SSC Assessor_New_V4 Exam

According to the PCI DSS v3.2.1 Quick Reference Guide1, settlement occurs when a merchant receives payment from a card issuer for a completed transaction and delivers goods or services to a customer or another party as agreed upon in advance by both parties, subject to any conditions imposed by either party upon delivery or payment, including but not limited to acceptance, rejection, return, exchange, refund, cancellation, modification, suspension, termination or revocation by either party upon delivery or payment; or any other conditions imposed by either party upon delivery or payment; or any other conditions imposed by either party upon delivery or payment; or any other conditions imposed by either party upon delivery or payment;

According to the PCI DSS v3.2.1 Quick Reference Guide1, audit logs must be retained for at least 1 year, with the most recent 3 months immediately available. This is one of the requirements for ensuring that audit logs are available for review and analysis.

The Secure SLC standard is one of the two standards that are part of the PCI Software Security Framework (SSF), which provides security requirements and assessment procedures for software vendors to integrate into their software development lifecycles and to validate that secure lifecycle management practices are in place12. The Secure SLC standard is designed to offer a more flexible approach to how the security and integrity of payment software is tested, and to address the evolving threat landscape and changes in software development practices3.

The PCI DSS Requirement 6 states that entities must develop and maintain secure systems and applications, and it includes several sub-requirements that cover variousaspects of software security, such as change control, secure coding, vulnerability management, and patching4. By using custom software that is compliant with the Secure SLC standard, an entity may be able to meet some or all of these sub-requirements, as the Secure SLC standard covers similar topics and ensures that the software is developed and maintained in a secure manner throughout its entire lifecycle1. However, this does not automatically make the entity PCI DSS compliant, as there are other requirements and controls that the entity must implement and validate, such as network security, access control, monitoring, and incident response4. Therefore, the correct answer is option B.

The other options are not true regarding the impact of using custom software that is compliant with the Secure SLC standard on the PCI DSS assessment. Option A is not true because, as explained above, the entity still has to comply with other PCI DSS requirements and controls that are not covered by the Secure SLC standard. Option C is not true because there is a positive impact to the entity, as it may help the entity to meet several requirements in Requirement 6 and to demonstrate that the custom software is secure and reliable. Option D is not true because the custom software cannot be excluded from the PCI DSS assessment, as it is part of the cardholder data environment (CDE) and it may store, process, or transmit cardholder data or sensitive authentication data. The entity must ensure that the custom software meets the PCI DSS requirements and controls that are applicable to it, and that the assessor validates its compliance4. References:

Software Security Framework Secure Software Life Cycle (Secure SLC) Standard

PCI Security Standards Council Publishes Version 1.1 of Secure Software Lifecycle (SLC) Standard and Program

PCI Security Standards Council Publishes Version 1.1 of Secure Software Standard and Program

PCI DSS v3.2.1

According to the PCI DSS v3.2.1 Quick Reference Guide1, track equivalent data on the chip of a payment card is sensitive authentication data, which means it can be used to authenticate a cardholder or a transaction, but it should not be stored or transmitted by merchants after authorization if encrypted. This is one of the requirements for preventing unauthorized access to sensitive authentication data.

According to the PCI DSS v3.2.1 Quick Reference Guide1, security policies and operational procedures should be distributed to and understood by all affected parties, such as management, staff, contractors, vendors, and service providers. This is one of the requirements for ensuring that security policies and operational procedures are communicated and followed consistently.

According to the PCI DSS v3.2.1 Quick Reference Guide1, a user password and a PIN-activated smart card is an example of multi-factor authentication. This is one of the requirements for preventing unauthorized access to cardholder data using digital certificates.

PCI DSS Requirement 12.10.1 requires entities to implement an incident response plan that includes roles, responsibilities, and communication and contact strategies for a data security incident, including notification of relevant payment brands1. This is important because each payment card brand has its own policies and procedures for dealing with a security breach, and failing to follow them or meet reporting deadlines could result in fines or loss of authority to process payment card transactions2. Therefore, an incident response plan must include procedures for notifying PCI SSC of the security incident, as well as any other entities that may require notification, whether by contract or law1. References:

Guidance for PCI DSS Scoping and Network Segmentation

Responding to a Cardholder Data Breach

an entity can use both the Customized Approach and the Defined Approach to meet the same requirement, as long as it uses compensating controls to address any weaknesses or gaps inthe customized control. This is one of the requirements for ensuring that an entity can use both approaches when appropriate.

The PCI DSS requires that access to databases containing cardholder data is restricted to authorized users and applications, and that direct access to such databases is prohibited. According to the PCI DSS Requirement 7.1.2, “Restrict access to privileged user IDs to least privileges necessary to perform job responsibilities.” Furthermore, according to the PCI DSS Requirement 8.3.1, “Implement multi-factor authentication for all non-console access into the cardholder data environment for personnel with administrative access.” Therefore, the scenario that meets the PCI DSS requirements for restricting access to databases containing cardholder data is the one where user access to the database is only through programmatic methods, such as through an application interface that enforces authentication, authorization, and encryption. The other scenarios either allow direct access to the database, or do not limit the access to the least privileges necessary, or do not use multi-factor authentication for administrative access. References: [PCI DSS v3.2.1], Card Production Security Assessor - Logical - Credly