PCI Compliance is an important statutory regulation applicable for many companies and it is important to check whether your database can confirm to the mandated standards.
Are you still using the
old SQL Server Edition to run a PCT Compliant System, then there is a possibility that you may fail in your next audit. Now one of the biggest requirements for audit is that your software must be supported by its vendor and surprisingly, Microsoft does no longer supports old SQL Server editions previous to 2005. For those of you who don’t know what PCI Compliant System is, then let inform you that it the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard or PCI DSS that is considered to be the proprietary information security standard set for different organization that basically handle the popular credit cards of various card schemes like MasterCard, Visa, Discover and the likes of American Express and JCB. So, if you are still using the old SQL version, it’s time to upgrade!
Worry not, even if Microsoft doesn’t supports older SQL versions, as the latest upgrade is available in the form of SQL Server 2016 that comes packed with new and advanced features. You can also use the 2014 edition to run PCI Compliant System for audit success. In fact, keep in mind that the newer version you upgrade, the more success you can expect from your projects in the next audit.
Let us peep deep inside the requirements from an SQL server for a PCI Compliant System. Whether you know or not but PCI DSS is applied to the different entities that are involved in payment card processing and needs to fetch the cardholder data and sensitive authentication data for processing. In easier words, this standard is applied to all the companies that work in relation to credit card data. You must also know that Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council or PCI SSC is behind the maintenance of PCI DSS. Originally, PCI DSS was formed in the year 2004 and its latest version 3.0 came out in 2013. On the other hand, it is also important to know that PCI DSS auditors undergo onsite assessment per year this includes policy reviews, penetration testing and even quarterly vulnerability scans on the whole network, so it is crucial that your system is upgraded with the latest SQL Server version to meet the audit requirements.
The main purpose of PCI is to protect the stored cardholder data and also to encrypt transmission of the cardholder data across various open or public networks. As a set standard, the sensitive data should not be saved on the system and in case such a data is received anytime during a card transaction, then the data should be unrecoverable after the completion of the authorization process. Keeping all such factors in mind, we suggest you to upgrade from the older SQL version to the newer one!
A new SQL Server version is not going to protect you from SQL crashes
While opting for the latest SQL Server edition is the right thing to do; it does not guarantee protection from SQL crashes. Hence the best way to tackle SQL crashes involves investing in a sql server recovery software like DataNumen SQL Recovery. Designed to handle the most intricate cases of SQL corruption, this fantastic tool can pull out records from any compromised SQL database file in quick time. Further its overall ease of use and exceptionally high recovery rate make it the best recovery tool in its class.
Author Introduction:
Alan Chen is President & Chairman of DataNumen, Inc., which is the world leader in data recovery technologies, including access recovery and sql recovery software products. For more information visit https://www.datanumen.com/
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