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PCI DSS on EKS — Quick-Start

A per-regime quick-start for running cardholder-data (CHD) workloads on Amazon EKS under PCI DSS. Read the cross-regime scope table and language-precision rules in compliance-regimes.md first; this file is the PCI-specific depth. This is a starting-point quick-start, not a full PCI DSS checklist — it maps the EKS-relevant requirements, not all 12 (Req 5/9/12 and the rest still apply to the cardholder-data environment).

Compliance status changes over time — verify on the live AWS Services in Scope page before quoting coverage in any customer-facing document. Requirement numbers and cadences below are as of PCI DSS v4.0.1 (June 2024) — re-verify against the current standard if it is renumbered.

Scope & the language that gets graded​

  • EKS is natively in scope for PCI DSS Level 1 — AWS attests the infrastructure; the customer owns the workload-level controls (segmentation, access, logging, vuln management) and its own PCI assessment.
  • The PCI DSS Attestation of Compliance (AOC) is downloaded from AWS Artifact; it covers AWS's responsibility, not the customer's cardholder-data environment (CDE).
  • Scope minimization is the highest-leverage move — isolate the CDE into dedicated namespaces (or a dedicated cluster/account) so PCI controls apply to the smallest possible footprint.

The PCI-specific controls (on top of the 7-layer baseline)​

PCI DSS requirementEKS control
Req 1 — install & maintain network security controls (segmentation)Default-deny NetworkPolicy + Security Groups for Pods isolating CDE namespaces; private endpoint
Req 2 — secure configBottlerocket / CIS-hardened AL2023; kube-bench; PSA restricted + Kyverno
Req 3 — protect stored account dataRender stored PAN unreadable via truncation, tokenization, keyed cryptographic hash of the entire PAN (Req 3.5.1.1; the keyed-hash condition — with key management per Reqs 3.6/3.7 — is a best practice that became mandatory 31 Mar 2025, replacing the older one-way-hash option of Req 3.5.1), or field-level strong crypto — CMK (KMS) disk/volume encryption on EBS/S3/EFS is not sufficient alone on non-removable media (Req 3.5.1.2); envelope-encryption CMK for the K8s API; mask PAN on display to BIN + last 4 (Req 3.4.1); no PAN in logs; minimize stored CHD
Req 4 — encrypt CHD in transit over open/public networksTLS to clients; mTLS via service mesh for CHD-carrying paths that cross untrusted networks
Req 6 — secure development / patchECR Enhanced Scanning (Inspector); image signing; Auto Mode's ≤21-day node lifecycle (or managed-node patching) keeps replacement well inside the PCI one-month critical-patch window (Req 6.3.3)
Req 7 / 8 — access controlEKS Pod Identity + Access Entries (API mode); least-privilege RBAC; no static keys
Req 10 — logging & monitoringControl-plane audit+authenticator + CloudTrail + GuardDuty; 1-year audit-log retention minimum, 3 months immediately available (PCI DSS Req 10.5.1)
Req 11 — testingECR/Inspector continuous scanning; quarterly ASV external scan (Req 11.3.2) + annual internal + external penetration tests (Req 11.4.2 internal, 11.4.3 external); segmentation testing — at least once every 12 months, every 6 months for service providers (Req 11.4.5 / 11.4.6) — to prove the NetworkPolicy/SGP CDE isolation actually holds

Phased hardening quick-start — ~16 weeks (existing-cluster, audit-driven)​

  • Weeks 1-2 (non-disruptive): enable control-plane logging with 1-year retention + GuardDuty + ECR Enhanced Scanning + the Security Hub PCI DSS standard + kube-bench baseline.
  • Weeks 3-6: aws-auth → Access Entries (change window); audit IRSA/Pod Identity least-privilege (Req 7/8).
  • Weeks 7-10: PSA restricted (audit→enforce); Kyverno PCI policies; default-deny NetworkPolicy + Security Groups for Pods on the CDE namespace (Req 1); render stored PAN unreadable — tokenize / keyed cryptographic hash of the entire PAN (Req 3.5.1.1) / field-level crypto (Req 3); mTLS for CHD in transit over open/public networks (Req 4).
  • Weeks 11-14: migrate AL2 → AL2023 / Bottlerocket (AL2 OS reached EOL 2026-06-30 — already unsupported; prioritize).
  • Weeks 15-16: AWS Config conformance packs "Operational Best Practices for PCI DSS 4.0 (Excluding global resource types)" / "...(Including global resource types)" + Security Hub PCI pack → remediate → pull the PCI AOC; schedule the quarterly ASV scan and segmentation testing (every 6 months as a service provider). Map controls to Requirements 1/2/3/4/6/7/8/10/11. (AWS Audit Manager's PCI framework works for existing accounts only — maintenance mode; see compliance-accelerators.md for the dated status.)

Escalate​

First-time PCI Level 1 assessment; multi-tenant SaaS with cross-tenant CHD isolation; a CDE that cannot be network-segmented; or a QSA disputing an AWS-managed-control boundary. See engagement-and-response.md.

Shared responsibility (PCI DSS)​

AWS managesCustomer manages
Control-plane + etcd; PCI DSS L1 attestation of the infrastructure; the AOC in ArtifactCDE scoping + segmentation; the workload controls for Req 1/2/3/4/6/7/8/10/11; 1-year log retention; the quarterly ASV scan + annual pentest + segmentation testing (every 6 months as a service provider); the customer's own PCI assessment

Sources​