PCI DSS 11.4 Penetration Testing

PCI DSS requires regular penetration testing of the cardholder data environment and its connected systems. We test the way a threat actor would, and report what to fix first.

What requirement 11.4 asks for

  • External penetration testing (11.4.3) of internet-facing systems.
  • Internal penetration testing (11.4.2) from inside the network.
  • Segmentation testing (11.4.5) where segmentation is used to reduce PCI scope, to confirm the cardholder data environment is isolated.

How we approach it

  1. Scope. We agree which systems are in the cardholder data environment, which are connected, and which are out of scope, so testing matches what your assessor expects.
  2. Test. Reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery and controlled exploitation under written rules of engagement.
  3. Report. Findings explained for leadership and in technical detail for your team.
  4. Remediate. Prioritized guidance on what to fix, in what order, and how to verify.

What you receive

  • Executive summary for leadership
  • Technical report with evidence for each finding
  • Findings prioritized by risk and effort
  • Remediation guidance your team can act on

Testing and readiness support

Core-Infosec provides penetration testing and PCI readiness support. We do not perform PCI validation assessments. Your acquirer, card brand or assessor decides which validation applies to you. Our job is to give you testing evidence and a clear remediation path.

Beyond PCI, we also test internal and external networks, web applications and APIs, and cloud and Microsoft 365 environments, including red team exercises. See Penetration Testing. Our team has delivered hundreds of assessments, has worked with large enterprises including Fortune 50 organizations, and has experience with HIPAA, FISMA and ISO frameworks and with nation-state and APT-level threat actors.

Get in touch

Prefer to write? Email info@core-infosec.com or use the contact form. We reply to form and email enquiries by the next business day. Ask us about incident response retainers as well.

Penetration testing is performed only with written authorization.