The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has published version 1.2 of the PCI Secure Software Standard and its supporting program documentation. One of two standards that make up the PCI Software Security Framework (SSF), the PCI Secure Software Standard sets out requirements to help ensure that payment software is designed, developed, and maintained in a manner that protects transactions and data, minimizes vulnerabilities, and defends against attacks.
The latest version introduces minor changes to the standard relating to clarification/guidance and structure/formatting. It also introduces more significant changes regarding new or evolving content, chiefly the Web Software Module, a set of supplemental security requirements to address the most common security issues related to the use of internet-accessible payment technologies. Version 1.2 also adds a requirement that SSF company QA staff are either an SSF assessor or have completed SSF knowledge training. This comes ahead of the PCI DSS 4.0 regulation, which will come into full effect in March 2025.
