PCI DSS Awareness

It is for staff, team leaders, IT and managers who handle, support or can affect card payments. That includes BPO and contact-centre teams that handle card data for overseas clients, as well as retail, e-commerce and IT support staff. No prior PCI DSS knowledge is needed.

It covers what PCI DSS is and who it applies to; cardholder data and sensitive authentication data; the cardholder data environment, scope and segmentation; the 12 requirements in six goals; who is who, from PCI SSC to assessors; self-assessment questionnaires, Reports on Compliance and Attestations of Compliance; everyday controls; what is new in v4.0.1; and responding to a suspected compromise.

The course is planned as 13 video modules and about 110 minutes of video, followed by practice questions and a final exam. Video runtimes are approximate, so allow additional time for the practice questions and the exam. With 12 months of access, learners can complete it in one sitting or over several sessions.

Yes. Learners who reach the 70% pass mark in the final exam receive a Sterling Academy Certificate of Completion for PCI DSS Awareness. Each certificate carries a unique number and a QR code, and anyone can check it online using the certificate number and the holder's surname. It is a training certificate for the individual learner.

Yes. PCI DSS Awareness is a self-paced online course made of short video modules, in English with captions. You study at your own pace during 12 months of access, and practice questions after modules help you check your understanding before the final exam. If a point is unclear, questions are answered by a Sterling consultant.

PCI DSS Awareness is US$19 per learner. Teams save 20% for 11 to 50 learners and 30% for 51 to 200 learners; 201 or more learners are priced on request. Client administrators can track their team's progress. Prices are in US dollars, excluding taxes, and Sterling confirms final pricing and enrolment.

No. The Certificate of Completion is a training certificate: it shows that one person completed PCI DSS Awareness and reached the pass mark in its final exam. It is not certification of an organisation to PCI DSS, and Sterling does not certify organisations. An organisation's PCI DSS compliance is validated through its own assessment, such as a self-assessment questionnaire or a Report on Compliance by a qualified assessor, with an Attestation of Compliance.

The course teaches learners to recognise a suspected card data compromise and report it at once through their organisation's reporting route, and explains what not to do while waiting. Prompt reporting matters because PCI DSS depends on the organisation responding quickly. The exact contacts and steps come from each organisation's own incident response procedure.