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PCI Assessments Center

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Kaitiaki, AI PCI ISA

Meet Kaitiaki — your Internal Security Assessor

Grounded in the PCI SSC library for PCI DSS v4.0.1 — ask about scoping, SAQ eligibility, evidence or your own gaps.

Your PCI assessment workspace.

Determine the right SAQ, complete it online against PCI DSS v4.0.1, and prepare your teams for PCIP and QSA — in one guided workspace.

10 official SAQs · PCI SSC-aligned · Free forever
PCI Assessments
Content Card · Platinum
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Questions
189 domains
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SAQs
v4.0.1 aligned
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Controls
across 11 SAQs
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Courses
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Flashcards
terminology
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Exam Tracks
AWARENESS · DEVELOPERS · +7
Valid Thru
PCI DSS · v4.0.1
Issued By
Haumaru Whānau · QSA
10 official SAQs
All PCI DSS v4.0.1 SAQs supported verbatim.
Verified email signup
Email code verification with disposable-domain blocking.
RLS-protected data
Every assessment isolated by tenant and role.
QSA-authored content
Built by Haumaru Whānau PCI QSA professionals.
Independent practice
Preparation for official PCIP and QSA exams.
Free self-assessment
Determine, attest and complete at no cost.
Threat watch

Why compliance posture matters

Live payment-security signals curated from public industry sources. Refreshed every few hours — nothing here is a PCI Assessments Center incident.

Threattoday

ClickFix Attackers Exploit Siemens Software Center Flaw to Deploy Remote Access Trojan

Siemens has addressed a DLL sideloading vulnerability impacting Siemens Software Center that it said has been exploited in ClickFix attacks. The high-severity vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-110936 (CVSS v4 score: 8.4), could allow an a…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threattoday

Hackers Use New ROMULUS ClickFix Platform to Deliver LegionLoader and Other Malware

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a ClickFix delivery platform called ROMULUS that's being used to distribute malware such as Legion Loader. According to Forescout Research - Vedere Labs, ROMULUS is akin to a malware deli…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threattoday

Critical FortiSIEM Flaw Gets Public Exploit PoC for Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution

Cybersecurity researchers have released a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit for a recently patched critical security flaw impacting Fortinet FortiSIEM that could result in arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-10617…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threattoday

Qilin and INC Ransomware Groups Exploit Palo Alto Networks Flaw to Bypass MFA

Palo Alto Networks has disclosed that it's continuing to observe exploitation of a now-patched security flaw impacting PAN-OS and Prisma Access by ransomware actors. The activity relates to CVE-2026-0257 (CVSS score: 7.8), an authenticatio…

The Hacker NewsRead
Breachtoday

Hackers Use Autonomous AI Agents to Breach Company Websites, Target Over 1,200 Sites

A Chinese-speaking criminal pointed autonomous AI agents at company websites and let them break in with almost no help, and a security researcher watched it happen because the operators left their control panels open on the internet. The a…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threattoday

Pegasus Spyware Infection Confirmed on Serbian University Rector's iPhone Days Before Election

The iPhone of Vladan Đokić, rector of the University of Belgrade and a prominent supporter of Serbia's student protest movement, was infected with NSO Group's Pegasus spyware in 2026, the Citizen Lab said on October 19. The finding came si…

The Hacker NewsRead
Regulationtoday

WhatsApp Hid Instructions in Help Pages Telling Its AI Chatbot Not to Recommend Privacy Regulators

WhatsApp's help pages carried hidden instructions for its support chatbot that told it not to recommend a data protection authority or regulator to users who could no longer delete their accounts, even though WhatsApp's own privacy policy…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threattoday

What Security Teams Can Do To Tame Wild Code

A sales manager builds an AI-assisted workflow to route leads. It connects to customer records, summarizes inbound requests, and posts updates to a shared channel. The workflow saves time, reduces manual work, and soon becomes part of the…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threattoday

Go Issues Emergency Update Blocking Eight CA Keys Over Undisclosed Security Concerns

Go 1.27.3 and Go 1.26.10, released on October 20, make Go's certificate verifier reject any certificate chain that passes through one of eight intermediate certificate authority keys. Programs built on the new release will refuse connectio…

The Hacker NewsRead
Breachtoday

Russian APT28 Breaches NATO Naval Shipbuilder in NATO Country, Deploys New Reflective Loader

The Russia-linked state-sponsored threat actor tracked as APT28 (aka BlueDelta, Fancy Bear, and Forest Blizzard) has been attributed to attacks targeting two member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Symantec Thre…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threattoday

ConnectWise Resets Credentials as Cloud Backup Remains Offline After Security Incident

ConnectWise on Monday said it has taken remediation measures, including strengthening administrative-access protections and resetting accounts and replacing application credentials, as it continues to respond to a security incident that le…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threattoday

Hackers Hijack Five OVHcloud CLI Releases to Distribute Secret-Stealing Malware

An attacker used a contributor's GitHub account to replace the download archives on five existing releases of OVHcloud's command-line tool on Monday, October 19. The account had been hijacked, and the new files were a build designed to ste…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threattoday

Ex-OpenAI Engineer Detained in Spy Device Case as Saudi Royal Contacts Emerge

A U.S. court on Monday granted the U.S. government's request to detain a former OpenAI engineer accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco office to allegedly steal sensitive secre…

The Hacker NewsRead
PCI Alerttoday

Build Your Payment Security Expertise with PCI SSC eLearning

Keeping pace with the evolving payment security landscape requires current knowledge and practical expertise—but finding time for training can be challenging. PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) eLearning gives payment security profes…

PCI PerspectivesRead
Threat1 day ago

Feds Suspect Ransom Negotiator Ran ShinyHunters Extortion Site

U.S. federal investigators pursuing the ShinyHunters hacking group that recently stole highly sensitive data from the FBI have identified executives at two different ransomware negotiation firms who maintained unusually close relations wit…

Krebs on SecurityRead
Regulation1 day ago

Unpatched Broadcom Wi-Fi Flaw Lets Attackers in Range Run Code as Root on Routers

A flaw in Broadcom's Wi-Fi setup software lets an attacker within radio range run code as root on Broadcom-based routers, without the network password or any pairing step, security researcher Quentin Kaiser disclosed on October 16. He show…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threat1 day ago

Fake Web3 Accelerator Uses npm Packages to Spread Malware and Hijack AI Agent Traffic

A fake Web3 accelerator has been observed pushing information stealers and backdoors to Windows and macOS systems using malicious npm packages under the pretext of offering free artificial intelligence (AI) credits for Anthropic Claude and…

The Hacker NewsRead
Guidance1 day ago

The AI Exchange: Innovators in Payment Security Featuring AuditSafe

Welcome to the PCI Security Standards Council’s blog series, The AI Exchange: Innovators in Payment Security. This special, ongoing feature of our PCI Perspectives blog offers a resource for payment security industry stakeholders to exchan…

PCI PerspectivesRead
Threat1 day ago

Hackers Exploit Plex2Shell Flaws to Install Crypto Miners and Linux Proxy Backdoor

Threat actors have begun to exploit a chain of vulnerabilities in Plex Media Server to deploy cryptocurrency miners and reverse proxy software, a day after a proof-of-concept (PoC) went public. According to a researcher who goes by the onl…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threat1 day ago

Popular WordPress SEO Plugin Rank Math PRO Hijacked to Deliver Self-Restoring Backdoor

Copies of Rank Math PRO, the paid version of the Rank Math SEO plugin for WordPress, that were downloaded from rankmath.com or delivered as updates between 20:02 UTC on October 15 and 07:12 UTC on October 16 contained malware, Rank Math sa…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threat1 day ago

GhostAction Attackers Plant Credential Stealer Disguised as Font in 94 GitHub Repositories

The threat actor behind the GhostAction supply chain attack has expanded beyond injecting malicious GitHub Actions workflows into compromised projects to phish open-source developers and deliver a stealer malware disguised within a fake fo…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threat1 day ago

From Email-to-Case to the Boardroom: How Inherited Agents Break Governance Built for Software

In Salesforce Agentforce, the recommended way to make an agent respond to events is a Flow: a record is created or a case is updated, and the Flow passes data into the agent's prompt. Separately, Email-to-Case and Web-to-Case turn inbound…

The Hacker NewsRead
Breach1 day ago

OpenCode Console Breach May Have Exposed OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google API Keys

An intruder reached a legacy system at OpenCode on the night of October 16 and may have exposed the third-party AI provider keys that users had saved in OpenCode Console, the company said. Console is OpenCode's optional hosted service: a w…

The Hacker NewsRead
Threat1 day ago

⚡ Weekly Recap: 98 Zero-Days, Rogue AI Agents, $100M Crypto Theft, 700 Supermarkets Hit and More

The worst problems don't always come with a warning. Sometimes they arrive through a service everyone trusts, a device someone bought, or a system nobody thought to check. By the time something looks wrong, the damage may already be done.…

The Hacker NewsRead
The path

From "which SAQ?" to "we're ready"

Every step is grounded in the PCI SSC v4.0.1 SAQ Instructions and Guidelines. No guesswork, no smaller SAQ than your scope allows.

1
Determine

Find the right assessment for your organisation.

2
Attest

Confirm official SAQ eligibility criteria.

3
Complete

Answer the correct SAQ with QSA guidance.

4
Plan with your AI PCI ISA

Turn every gap into a remediation plan and a scored risk register — free.

5
Validate

Review results online or engage a QSA to sign.

6
Train

Prepare your team for PCI certification exams with QSA-authored practice materials.

PCI DSS v4.0.1

What changed — and what you must plan for

Selected requirements the platform highlights during your assessment. Click through the deck or wait for it to rotate.

In effectReq 8.4

MFA for all access into the CDE

Multi-factor authentication is now required for all access into the Cardholder Data Environment, not just administrative access.

Offerings

Three doors, one path

Start free with a self-assessment or training. Bring in a QSA when the payment brand or acquirer asks for a signature.

Assessment
Self-Assessment

Structured PCI DSS eligibility check covering all 10 official PCI DSS v4.0.1 SAQs. Results are available online in your workspace.

  • Fail-closed eligibility mirrors PCI SSC decision tree
  • Verbatim controls with expected testing
  • Online results — no downloads
  • Per-tenant secure storage
Create a free account
Courses
PCIP & QSA readiness

Course tracks for PCIP and PCI QSA — lessons, quizzes, and readiness checklists, authored by practising QSAs.

  • PCIP fundamentals course
  • PCI QSA readiness course
  • QSA-authored lessons
  • Free for every organisation
  • Independent practice material — not official PCI SSC exams
Explore courses
QSA Services
Formal SAQ, AoC & ROC

When you need a signed SAQ, an Attestation of Compliance, or a Report on Compliance, a Haumaru Whānau QSA takes it from here.

  • Formal SAQ + Attestation of Compliance
  • ROC readiness & QSA-assisted assessments
  • Remediation sprints
  • Annual QSA retainer
Explore QSA services
Who it's for

Built for every side of PCI

FAQ

Frequently asked

Is the platform really free?+

Yes. Self-assessments and every training module on PCI Assessments Center are free. There is no credit card, trial or paywall. Only formal QSA engagements — signed SAQ, Attestation of Compliance, ROC readiness, remediation, and retainers — are paid, and they are quoted individually.

Do I need to create an account?+

Yes. A free account is required so your self-assessments and responses stay tied to your organisation. Each account belongs to a tenant, and row-level security ensures only members of your organisation can read your data.

Which SAQs are supported?+

All 10 official PCI DSS v4.0.1 SAQs: A, A-EP, B, B-IP, C, C-VT, D-Merchant, D for Service Providers, P2PE, and SPoC. The guided selector uses the PCI SSC v4.0.1 SAQ Instructions to determine which SAQ applies to your environment, and requires you to attest the official eligibility criteria before you start.

How does PCI Assessments Center choose the right SAQ for me?+

A fail-closed decision engine walks you through the PCI SSC v4.0.1 SAQ Instructions and Guidelines. Every question and eligibility check cites its source. If any short-form SAQ criterion is not met, the engine routes you to SAQ D or to a QSA — never a smaller SAQ than your scope allows.

What do I get at the end of a self-assessment?+

A structured online result in your workspace: the correct SAQ for your scope, your eligibility attestation, the full selection rationale with citations, and your recorded responses. Results are online-only — there are no downloadable PDFs.

Why can't I download a PDF of my SAQ or AoC?+

A downloadable SAQ or Attestation of Compliance implies formal validation. To keep that distinction clear, PCI Assessments Center only shows self-assessment results online. When you need a signed SAQ or AoC, request a formal engagement from QSA Services and a Haumaru Whānau QSA will issue it.

Can PCI Assessments Center replace a formal QSA engagement?+

No. Self-assessments here are for readiness, scoping, and internal use. If your acquirer, payment brand, or a contract requires a signed SAQ, Attestation of Compliance, or Report on Compliance, request a formal engagement on the QSA Services page.

When do I need a QSA instead of a self-assessment?+

You need a QSA if you are a PCI DSS Level 1 merchant or service provider, if your acquirer or brand mandates a Report on Compliance, if you have been designated for Designated Entities Supplemental Validation, or if you have had a recent card data breach. The guided selector flags these cases and routes you to QSA Services.

How much do formal QSA engagements cost?+

Every engagement is scoped and quoted individually — complexity, environment size, evidence maturity, and geography all affect effort. Submit a request from QSA Services; a QSA will schedule a scoping call and follow up with a written quote.

How secure is my data?+

Every table uses per-tenant row-level security, so only members of your organisation can read or write your data. Authentication runs on managed cloud infrastructure with sessions scoped per tenant.

Who is behind PCI Assessments Center?+

Haumaru Whānau, a certified PCI QSA Company. Self-assessments and training remain free; formal QSA services are delivered by Haumaru Whānau QSAs and quoted separately.

Are the PCIP and QSA exams official PCI SSC exams?+

No. The PCIP-style and QSA-style exams on PCI Assessments Center are independent practice and preparation exams created by Haumaru Whānau QSAs. They are not endorsed by, affiliated with, or a substitute for the official PCI Security Standards Council PCIP or QSA qualification exams.