Most organizations today accept credit cards.  PCI DSS provides a baseline of technical and operational requirements designed to protect cardholder data.  PCI DSS applies to all entities involved in payment card processing - including merchants, processors, acquirers, issuers, and service providers, as well as all other entites that store, process or transmit cardholder data.  PCI DSS comprises a minimum set of requirements for protecting cardholder data, and may be enhanced by additional controls and practices to further mitigate risks. 

This document, PCI Data Security Standard Requirements and Security Assessment Procedures (Oct 2010), combines the 12 PCI DSS rquirements and corresponding testing procedure into a security assessment tool.  It is designed for use during PCI DSS compliance assessment as part of an entity's validation process.  It provides detailed guidelines and best practices to assist entities prepare for, conduct, and report the results of a PCI DSS assessment.