PCI DSS Back to compliance guides
PCI DSS Cloud Control and Evidence Guide
A pragmatic playbook for cardholder-data environments running on cloud-native stacks.
Control focus areas
- Network segmentation and secure boundary enforcement for CDE scope reduction
- Strong access controls with MFA, role segregation, and reviewable privilege paths
- Vulnerability management and patch cadences for systems handling cardholder data
- Centralized logging and alert triage workflows with retained investigative context
Evidence operations
Maintain monthly baseline scan artifacts, change-control records, access review outputs, and incident response timelines in a searchable evidence repository.
Implementation sequence
- Phase 1: Define cloud CDE boundaries and inherited control responsibilities
- Phase 2: Automate posture and IaC checks in CI/CD and runtime monitoring
- Phase 3: Validate evidence completeness with internal sample audits