PCI SSF Gap Assessment for Payment Software
Customers, acquirers, and card brands are asking whether your payment software meets the PCI Software Security Framework. This gap assessment confirms which standard actually applies to your product, where the control and evidence gaps are, and what has to change before a qualified assessor is engaged.
- An applicability and scope memo covering Secure Software Standard v2.0 and Secure SLC.
- A control and evidence gap register mapped to the applicable standard.
- A prioritized remediation roadmap and an organized scope and evidence package for handoff to a qualified SSF assessor.
Who this is for
- Payment software vendors moving from legacy PA-DSS to the Software Security Framework.
- SaaS payment platforms whose product handles or influences account data.
- Product and security engineering teams preparing a first SSF validation.
- Vendors whose customers require a listed payment software product.
- Teams unsure whether Secure Software, Secure SLC, or neither applies to them.
- Software groups formalizing a secure development lifecycle under external scrutiny.
What you receive
- Applicability and scope memo
- A written position on which SSF program applies. The Secure Software Standard evaluates a specific software product; Secure SLC evaluates the vendor's development lifecycle. They are separate standards with separate programs and listings, and applicability must be confirmed before any work begins.
- Architecture and sensitive-asset review
- Product architecture, data flows, and the sensitive assets the software stores, processes, or protects, documented the way an assessor will expect.
- Control and evidence gap register
- Findings mapped to Secure Software Standard v2.0 objectives or Secure SLC requirements, with the evidence each control needs.
- Secure development lifecycle review
- Threat modeling, code review, dependency and vulnerability management, change control, and release integrity assessed against Secure SLC expectations.
- Technical testing and evidence plan
- Identify the testing and evidence required. When included in scope, ControlSolid can perform supporting application, API, and security control testing, document the results for assessor review, and identify any testing that must be performed or independently validated by a qualified SSF assessor.
- Remediation roadmap and assessor handoff
- Sequenced remediation by risk and engineering effort, plus an organized scope and evidence package for handoff to a qualified SSF assessor.
How the engagement runs
- 01Define the scope
Confirm product scope and whether Secure Software, Secure SLC, both, or neither applies.
- 02Assess the environment
Review architecture, development practices, controls, testing, and evidence.
- 03Prioritize the findings
Rank gaps by product risk, customer impact, and remediation effort.
- 04Deliver the action plan
Provide the remediation, evidence, and qualified-assessor handoff plan.
Who you work with
Senior-led payment software security work informed by prior QSA and principal-level payment-security consulting experience. Every engagement is delivered by a principal consultant, not staffed out to junior reviewers.
- Prior principal-level payment-security consulting at Trustwave.
- Prior application-security work at Amazon Web Services.
- Secure Software Standard v2.0 and Secure SLC treated as distinct programs, not one label.
- Scope and applicability resolved before remediation spend.
ControlSolid provides PCI SSF gap assessment, remediation support, and evidence preparation. ControlSolid does not perform formal PCI validation and does not list software or vendors. Formal Secure Software and Secure SLC assessments are performed by a PCI SSC-qualified SSF Assessor Company. We can coordinate with qualified partners while preserving the independence those assessments require. Prior QSA experience refers to previous professional roles and does not represent currently active assessor credentials.