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Cybersecurity · Credibility 99/100 · · 4 min read

Cyber Resilience Briefing — March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025 marks the end of the PCI DSS 4.0 transition period, making formerly ‘best practice’ controls mandatory for service providers and merchants.

Executive briefing: PCI DSS v4.0’s future-dated requirements take full effect on 31 March 2025. Zeph Tech is guiding payment leaders through targeted risk analysis cadences, continuous authentication monitoring, and evidence packaging so Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) can validate compliance without surprises.

Key industry signals

  • Deadline confirmed by the PCI SSC. The council’s official timeline reiterates that controls labelled ‘best practice’ since 2022—such as targeted risk analyses—are enforceable at the end of March 2025.
  • Expanded governance expectations. Requirement 12.3.2 formalises targeted risk analyses for flexible controls, while 12.3.3 demands executive reporting on service provider compliance.
  • Authentication scope broadened. The v4.0 Quick Reference Guide highlights that multi-factor authentication now covers all access into the cardholder data environment, including operators and third parties.

Control alignment

  • PCI DSS v4.0 Requirement 12. Document governance processes that show TRA schedules, executive oversight, and third-party performance management.
  • PCI DSS v4.0 Requirement 10. Verify that centralised logging covers hybrid infrastructure—virtual machines, containers, and serverless runtimes—with retention tuned to forensic obligations.

Detection and response priorities

  • Alert when accounts reach the cardholder data environment without enforced MFA or when TRA-defined control frequencies lapse.
  • Correlate QSA findings with internal risk registers so remediation and board updates share the same status data.

Enablement moves

  • Distribute updated compliance playbooks to service providers and partners processing cardholder data, including sample evidence requests and escalation paths.
  • Automate evidence capture—screenshots, configuration exports, and log excerpts—so quarterly reviews feed straight into annual reports on compliance.

Sources

Zeph Tech supports PCI DSS 4.0 programs with TRA templates, control automation, and partner attestation workflows.

  • PCI DSS v4.0
  • Payment security
  • Targeted risk analysis
  • Multi-factor authentication
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