TL;DR
- Using a vendor solution is faster and safer than building controls in-house. QSAs find established tools easier to evaluate than custom DIY mechanisms.
- Remote scanners can be deployed in under a day but may be rejected as a valid control. Multi-layer security takes days to weeks while delivering real protection and no risk of audit failure.
- Tools like cside offer a self-deploy option for small businesses to go live as soon as possible, while offering a fast track option for enterprises with a tight audit deadline.
Why QSAs Recommend Vendor Tools for PCI DSS 6.4.3 & 11.6.1
During our webinar with BARR Advisory, Kyle Kofsky noted that the default recommendation from QSAs is to use a vendor tool for requirements 6.4.3 & 11.6.1. Trying to handle these requirements with internally built tools takes enormous overhead and becomes a never-ending project due to ongoing maintenance.
“With CSP and SRI, even if you understand all these concepts, does your organization have the resources needed to implement these methods? Can inventories be maintained, can security methods be maintained as attacks evolve? This is a rolling year-to-year assessment and you have to be compliant the whole time. For many organizations this is too big of a burden to bear. That’s why third-party tools are becoming very popular to manage these scripts and the security of payment pages.“
This does not suggest that Kyle Kofsky or BARR Advisory recommended cside individually.
We’ve repeatedly seen teams spend months building internal controls, only to get stuck on a technical requirement and opt for a vendor tool after sinking resources into their DIY project. This article covers how to comply with PCI DSS 6.4.3 & 11.6.1 if you do decide to build internally.
It is much faster (and safer) to use a vendor like cside, which can be live within days and comes with premade dashboards + reports built for QSA review. For teams that value control, cside can be integrated with SIEMs and other elements in your defense stack.
How Long Does It Take to Implement a Vendor Tool for PCI DSS 6.4.3 & 11.6.1?
Remote scanners (1 day, limited security):
Also called “crawlers” or “agentless scanners”, these solutions can be implemented within 1 day. They monitor your website externally meaning no code or installation is required. The technical simplicity of this approach is also it’s largest drawback. While it is the fastest way to get basic monitoring of third party scripts, the security capabilities are extremely limited.
Which comes with the risk of failing the PCI DSS client-side requirements on your audit. The whole point of requirements 6.4.3 and 11.6.1 is to protect cardholders by reducing the possibility of web skimming on your payment pages. Remote scanners cannot block attacks. They scan for potential threats but they can be easily evaded by conditional code. A hacker can simply detect crawlers and serve clean code to them while serving malicious code to users.
We asked a QSA (who preferred to remain anonymous) if a scanner would pass the audit:
If you ask 5 QSAs, you will get 6 different opinions. The PCI council left the language vague on the specific controls that are approved for 6.4.3 & 11.6.1. That part is left for merchants to figure out. We’ve heard of some auditors accepting scanners as valid controls while others reject them since they cannot block scripts.
Our own security engineers highly recommend a solution with stronger protection capabilities. That said, cside does offer a remote scanning only solution for enterprises that prioritize speed of implementation over security. You can upgrade to stronger protection at any time.
Multi-layer security (days to weeks, maximum protection):
Solutions like cside layer together client-side monitoring, remote scanners, and custom AI script analysis to protect your pages. These solutions can be implemented within days to weeks depending on your implementation scope.
We’ve seen small businesses generate live reporting in under a week. Enterprises may take longer due to legal processes, formal PoC’s and pre-production testing. Several of our enterprise customers have reached full deployment within a month.
Although this approach adds a couple of weeks to your implementation timeline, it eliminates the risk of failing the audit due to inadequate controls. cside has been reviewed and validated by VikingCloud as able to meet requirements:
cside demonstrated the capability to meet PCI DSS requirements 6.4.3 and 11.6.1. The technical evaluation and testing supported the finding that the solution meets the above requirements when deployed correctly.
- VikingCloud, View the detailed report from VikingCloud here.
Self Deployment for PCI DSS 6.4.3 & 11.6.1 Tools
One way to accelerate compliance for PCI DSS 6.4.3 & 11.6.1 is to use a tool with a self-deployment option, like cside. Similar vendors like Feroot and Jscrambler require a demo call before you get access to their platform. Then comes the formal sales process before any implementation can begin.
With cside’s self deployment model you can immediately create a free account, set up basic protection on your pages, and then upgrade for full compliance coverage - all without getting on a sales call.
This is particularly useful for:
- Small businesses (under 500k monthly pageviews) that want to completely self-deploy using developer docs and guided resources, without a support team.
- Enterprise developers/compliance leaders who want hands-on access to evaluate the platform before recommending a vendor to a buying committee.
How Difficult Is It To Install a Vendor Tool for PCI DSS 6.4.3 & 11.6.1
Remote scanners:
- Difficulty: Easy, no-code
- Installation steps: Enter a list of domains or URLs to monitor. The vendor runs scans automatically and sends you reports or a dashboard with insights.
Multi-layer security (days to weeks, maximum protection):
- Difficulty: Easy, requires code edits
- Installation steps: Enter your domain. Add a line of code to your website. Update CSP rules if needed to allow the vendor script.
cside offers multiple methods for implementation, including developer friendly options like CLI-based setup or a Next.js package.
Can I Be PCI DSS 6.4.3 & 11.6.1 Compliant in 30 Days?
Yes, but timelines depend on your deployment size. We’ve seen customers implement cside in a matter of days and prepare audit evidence shortly after with the process completed in under a month. Larger enterprises have to take into account legal processes, PoC demonstrations, and advanced technical configuration.
If you’re preparing for an upcoming audit, cside can help speed up your process:
- For small businesses (less than 500k monthly pageviews): Create an account and self-deploy cside as your client-side protection mechanism. This can be done within days through guided resources, documentation, and access to technical support as needed.
- For enterprises: Reach out to our team, we can accelerate the implementation timeline and help you build a strategy to reach compliance faster.
