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.
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.
Live payment-security signals curated from public industry sources. Refreshed every few hours — nothing here is a PCI Assessments Center incident.
Attackers broke into an organization's Oracle database through a SQL injection flaw in a public-facing web application, then installed a post-exploitation toolkit without writing an executable to disk. They fed Java source code to the data…
Security flaws in agent infrastructure from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, and Vercel let untrusted or forged instructions reach an agent's tools with no check that a model turn had authorized them. In several of the attack paths, the…
Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a "factory-shipped backdoor" implanted in at least 20 Chinese router models from Zbtlink. According to a new report from VulnCheck, the implant appears in all 21 firmware images currently…
A 26-year-old Canadian man once described as one of the most consequential cybercrime threat actors of 2024 has pleaded guilty to computer fraud and conspiracy to hack and extort more than 165 organizations that used the cloud data storage…
An unprivileged Linux program can time a hardware interrupt to land in the gap between a processor sanitizing its branch predictor and the kernel using it, re-poisoning the predictor after the defense has run. MIT CSAIL researchers Daniël…
Apparently, opening the thing is now enough. A repo can run before the first prompt, a package can hide among hundreds, and a harmless-looking PDF can finish the job. This week runs on cheap leverage: exposed servers, recycled bugs, poison…
Forescout found 22 internet-facing Rockwell Automation programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in cities hit by recent cyberattacks on US water utilities. Nineteen used the same mobile carrier network. Its August 3 scan counted 4,407 exposed…
Coinspect has identified CryptoJS.lib.WordArray.random() as the weak random number generator behind the Ill Bloom wallet drains. Introduced in the JavaScript cryptography library 12 years ago, the function supplied weak entropy that affect…
Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a security issue with Apple's iCloud Private Relay tool that can expose a user's real IP address. Introduced with iOS 15, iCloud Private Relay employs a dual-hop architecture to ensure users' privac…
A new class of prompt injection is spreading across commercial websites. It requires no malware, no stolen credentials, and no zero-day exploit. It abuses a standard feature built into almost every major AI assistant: pre-filled deep links…
A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, sentenced Maksim Silnikau to 16 years in prison on August 5 for creating and running Ransom Cartel, the ransomware-as-a-service operation he stood up in 2021. Between 2021 and 2023, Ransom Cartel co…
A newly patched security flaw impacting on-premise versions of JetBrains TeamCity has come under active exploitation in the wild, according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The vulnerability in question…
Connor Riley Moucka pleaded guilty in Seattle federal court on Wednesday to computer fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and a related conspiracy over the 2024 breaches of Snowflake customer accounts. The intrusions reached at lea…
A macOS ClickFix operation spanning more than 250 front-end domains now fingerprints visitors before deciding whether to show them a malware lure, a change Microsoft Threat Intelligence tracked on infrastructure it had been watching for we…
OpenAI said it disrupted a Cambodia-based scam operation that used its generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT to facilitate a wide range of investment, romance, gambling, and law enforcement impersonation schemes. To that…
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered more than half-a-dozen services advertisements for illegal access to artificial intelligence (AI) models on underground cybercrime forums and messaging platforms. One such service, Poison Claude, c…
HashiCorp, Veeam, and the Django Software Foundation have patched 11 vulnerabilities across Terraform MCP Server, Veeam Service Provider Console, and Django. The three most serious: An unauthenticated flaw in Veeam's console that hands ove…
Cybersecurity researchers have flagged an evolution of the EtherHiding blockchain-based command-and-control (C2) technique that conceals the C2 server IP address inside a made-up destination address of a completely empty Ethereum transfer.…
A memory corruption flaw in the Linux kernel's Open vSwitch datapath gives ordinary local users a path to root on a broad set of default-configured distributions, and a public exploit ships with pre-built records for roughly 800 kernel bui…
Kali365 is turning a legitimate Microsoft login into a gateway to corporate data. The phishing kit targets US organizations with attacker-controlled device codes that victims approve on Microsoft's real authentication page. Once access and…
Registration is now open for the PCI Security Standards Council's 2026 Community Meetings! Join payments industry professionals from around the world for inspiring keynotes, valuable networking opportunities, expert-led sessions, hands-on…
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), on August 5, 2026, added three flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation in the wild. The list of vulnerabilities is…
Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed what has been described as a "long-standing supply chain attack" on QuickFox, a virtual private network (VPN) and network acceleration tool designed for overseas Chinese users. According to Fortinet…
Two security flaws in Paperclip could let attackers execute commands on a network server or a developer's computer. Paperclip is an open-source control plane for teams of artificial intelligence (AI) agents, and both paths rely on importin…
Every step is grounded in the PCI SSC v4.0.1 SAQ Instructions and Guidelines. No guesswork, no smaller SAQ than your scope allows.
Find the right assessment for your organisation.
Confirm official SAQ eligibility criteria.
Answer the correct SAQ with QSA guidance.
Turn every gap into a remediation plan and a scored risk register — free.
Review results online or engage a QSA to sign.
Prepare your team for PCI certification exams with QSA-authored practice materials.
Selected requirements the platform highlights during your assessment. Click through the deck or wait for it to rotate.
Multi-factor authentication is now required for all access into the Cardholder Data Environment, not just administrative access.
Start free with a self-assessment or training. Bring in a QSA when the payment brand or acquirer asks for a signature.
Structured PCI DSS eligibility check covering all 10 official PCI DSS v4.0.1 SAQs. Results are available online in your workspace.
Course tracks for PCIP and PCI QSA — lessons, quizzes, and readiness checklists, authored by practising QSAs.
When you need a signed SAQ, an Attestation of Compliance, or a Report on Compliance, a Haumaru Whānau QSA takes it from here.
Curated PCI SSC references we use ourselves when validating assessments.
Official PCI DSS v4.0.1 standard, SAQs, AoCs and supporting guidance.
OpenThe authoritative decision guide behind our fail-closed SAQ selector.
OpenMilestone-based path to reduce the highest risks first.
OpenCouncil-maintained answers to common interpretation questions.
OpenFoundational credential for security teams working with PCI DSS.
OpenRequirements to become and remain a Qualified Security Assessor.
OpenYes. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.