Requirement 3: Protect stored cardholder data
Protection methods such as encryption, truncation, masking, and hashing are critical components of cardholder data protection. If an intruder circumvents other security controls and gains access to encrypted data, without the proper cryptographic keys, the data is unreadable and unusable to that person. Other effective methods of protecting stored data should also be considered as potential risk mitigation opportunities. For example, methods for minimizing risk include not storing cardholder data unless absolutely necessary, truncating cardholder data if full PAN is not needed, and not sending unprotected PANs using end-user messaging technologies, such as e-mail and instant messaging.
Please refer to the PCI DSS and PA-DSS Glossary of Terms, Abbreviations, and Acronyms for definitions of “strong cryptography” and other PCI DSS terms*.*