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Financial Services: PCI-DSS Compliance

Learn how AnkaSecure enables PCI-DSS compliant encryption of cardholder data using quantum-resistant algorithms.

PCI-DSS Requirements

PCI-DSS v4.0 Cryptography Requirements

Requirement 3: Protect Stored Cardholder Data:

"Use strong cryptography to render cardholder data unreadable."

Requirement 4: Protect Cardholder Data with Strong Cryptography During Transmission:

"Use strong cryptography and security protocols (TLS 1.2+) to safeguard sensitive cardholder data."

Requirement 8: Identify Users and Authenticate Access:

"Use multi-factor authentication and strong cryptographic keys."

Requirement 10: Log and Monitor All Access:

"Record and retain audit trails to enable accountability."

AnkaSecure for PCI-DSS

Strong Cryptography (Req. 3 & 4)

Cardholder Data Encryption: - ✅ AES-256-GCM: PCI-DSS approved, high performance (74 MB/s) - ✅ ML-KEM-768: Quantum-resistant, future-proof - ✅ Key length: 256-bit minimum (PCI-DSS requirement met)

Transmission Security: - ✅ TLS 1.3: All API communications encrypted - ✅ HSTS: HTTP Strict Transport Security enforced - ✅ Certificate validation: Prevents MITM attacks

Key Management (Req. 3.6): - ✅ Cryptographic key generation, distribution, storage - ✅ Key rotation (recommended: every 90 days) - ✅ HSM support (for acquiring banks, processors)

Authentication (Req. 8)

  • ✅ JWT token validation (4 mandatory claims)
  • ✅ API key authentication (service-to-service)
  • ✅ Multi-factor authentication (Admin Console)

Audit Logging (Req. 10)

  • ✅ All cardholder data access logged
  • ✅ Log retention: 12 months minimum (PCI-DSS requirement)
  • ✅ Tamper-proof logs (cryptographic integrity)

Use Case: Payment Processing

Scenario

Payment Processor: ACME Payments Inc.

Requirements: - PCI-DSS Level 1 compliance (processes >6 million transactions/year) - Encrypt cardholder data (PAN, CVV, expiration date) - High throughput (10,000+ transactions/second) - Quantum resistance (future-proof)

Implementation

Step 1: Generate Cardholder Data Encryption Key

// Use AES-256-GCM for high-throughput payment processing
KeyGenerationRequest keyRequest = KeyGenerationRequest.builder()
    .algorithm("AES-256-GCM")  // PCI-DSS approved, fast
    .keyId("cardholder-data-key-2025")
    .policy("PCI_DSS")  // PCI-DSS compliant algorithms only
    .build();

KeyResponse key = ankaSecureClient.generateKey(keyRequest);

Why AES-256-GCM? - PCI-DSS v4.0 approved (strong cryptography) - High performance (74 MB/s, handles 10k+ TPS) - Symmetric encryption (optimal for high-volume data)

Alternative (for long-term storage): - ML-KEM-768: Quantum-resistant, for archival cardholder data (7+ years retention)

Step 2: Encrypt Cardholder Data

public String encryptCardholderData(CardData cardData) {
    // Tokenize PAN first (recommended: combine encryption + tokenization)
    String tokenizedPAN = tokenizationService.tokenize(cardData.getPan());

    // Create encrypted payload (CVV, expiration, etc.)
    SensitiveCardData sensitiveData = SensitiveCardData.builder()
        .cvv(cardData.getCvv())
        .expirationDate(cardData.getExpiration())
        .cardholderName(cardData.getName())
        .build();

    // Serialize to JSON
    String json = objectMapper.writeValueAsString(sensitiveData);
    String base64Data = Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(json.getBytes());

    // Encrypt with AES-256-GCM
    EncryptRequest request = EncryptRequest.builder()
        .keyId("cardholder-data-key-2025")
        .plaintext(base64Data)
        .build();

    EncryptResponse response = ankaSecureClient.encrypt(request);

    // Store: tokenized PAN + encrypted sensitive data
    return response.getCiphertext();
}

Step 3: Audit Logging (PCI-DSS Req. 10)

// Log cardholder data access
auditLogger.info("CARDHOLDER_DATA_ACCESS",
    Map.of(
        "operation", "DECRYPT",
        "tokenizedPAN", tokenizedPAN,
        "userId", currentUser.getEmail(),
        "correlationId", response.getCorrelationId(),
        "pciDssJustification", "Payment authorization"
    )
);

PCI-DSS Requirement: Retain logs for 12 months minimum (3 months online + 9 months archived).

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            Payment Application (ACME Payments)               │
│  (Web checkout, mobile payment, POS terminals)              │
└────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
             │
             │ AnkaSecure SDK (AES-256-GCM encryption)
             │
             ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  AnkaSecure Platform                         │
│  • Encrypt cardholder data (PAN, CVV, expiration)           │
│  • Audit logging (12-month retention)                        │
│  • HSM-backed keys (FIPS 140-2)                              │
└────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
             │
             ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│             Payment Database (encrypted storage)             │
│  • Tokenized PAN (not encrypted)                             │
│  • Encrypted CVV, expiration (AES-256-GCM ciphertext)        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

PCI-DSS Compliance Checklist

Requirement 3: Protect Stored Cardholder Data

  • [x] 3.4: Render PAN unreadable (encryption or tokenization)
  • [x] 3.5: Cryptographic key management procedures
  • [x] 3.6: Key management (generation, distribution, storage, rotation, destruction)
  • [ ] 3.7: Access to cryptographic keys restricted (implement IAM controls)

Requirement 4: Encrypt Transmission

  • [x] 4.1: Use strong cryptography (TLS 1.2+)
  • [x] 4.2: Never send unencrypted PAN via end-user messaging
  • [ ] Customer responsibility: Implement TLS in payment applications

Requirement 8: Identify Users

  • [x] 8.3: Secure authentication mechanisms (JWT, API keys)
  • [x] 8.4: MFA for Admin Console
  • [ ] Customer responsibility: Implement MFA for payment applications

Requirement 10: Log and Monitor

  • [x] 10.2: Automated audit trails for all cardholder data access
  • [x] 10.5: Protect audit trails (tamper-proof logs)
  • [x] 10.7: Retain audit logs (12 months minimum)

Quantum Resistance for Finance

Store-Now-Decrypt-Later Risk

Scenario: - Adversary captures encrypted payment data today - Quantum computer breaks RSA in 2035 - Decrypt 10-year-old transaction data

Impact: - Compromised PANs, CVVs - Fraud, identity theft - PCI-DSS non-compliance

Solution: Migrate to ML-KEM for long-term archival data

// For archival storage (7+ years retention)
KeyGenerationRequest archivalKey = KeyGenerationRequest.builder()
    .algorithm("ML-KEM-768")  // Quantum-resistant
    .keyId("archival-cardholder-key")
    .build();

Compliance Documentation

Request from AnkaTech: - ✅ PCI-DSS Attestation of Compliance (AOC) - ✅ SOC 2 Type II Report (demonstrates Req. 12) - ✅ Audit log export (for PCI-DSS audits)

Contact: compliance@ankatech.co

Documentation Version: 3.0.0 Last Updated: 2025-12-26