In the last decade, we have witnessed major data security breaches resulting in untold damage to both individuals and organizations as retailers, banks, service providers, and credit card companies struggle to secure the personal and financial data entrusted to them. This has evolved into a single data security standard called the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), with which all payment card network members, merchants and service providers must maintain compliance. This white paper helps to simplify and provide a deeper understanding of the PCI DSS v1.1, discusses best practices to achieve PCI compliance, and identifies which of these requirements can be satisfied by Alert Logic.