EvidenceSheet
PCI DSS v4.0.1 · Req 12: Information Security Policies

12.3.3 Cryptographic cipher suite and protocol inventory reviewed annually

The cipher suites and protocols in use must be documented, then checked at least every 12 months, with the review covering at minimum: a current inventory of every cipher suite and protocol in use, stating its purpose and where it is used; active tracking of industry developments on whether each remains viable; and a documented plan for responding to expected changes in cryptographic weaknesses. Applicability: covers every suite and protocol used to satisfy PCI DSS, including those rendering PAN unreadable at rest and in transit, protecting passwords, and supporting authentication. Objective under the customized approach: the entity can react fast to cryptographic protocol or algorithm weaknesses that affect cardholder data protection. Future-dated: treated as a best practice up to 31 March 2025 and mandatory since then.

Source: PCI DSS v4.0.1, 12.3.3. The statement above is our statement of the clause, read from the published text and cited so you can check it against the official text, not the instrument verbatim. Open PCI DSS v4.0.1 in the compliance library.

Version 4.0.1 is the active version; 4.0 has been retired. Appendix A1 applies only to multi-tenant service providers, A2 only to card-present POS POI terminals that still use SSL or early TLS, and A3 only when a payment brand or acquirer requires it. Which requirements apply to you follows your validation type.

4
artefacts
1
held by a system
1
at each review
moderate
to go live
SIEM / log platform
where the evidence lives
teal = a system already holds it · olive = produced at each review. To go live: easy when half or more of the artefacts are already held by a system, moderate from a quarter to a half, hard below a quarter.

These are the artefacts auditors commonly ask for on this requirement, our guidance rather than text from the standard. Your assessor decides what is sufficient in your context, and asks for samples across the period when a report covers one.

system holds itEvidence a system already holds

  • Evidence of industry monitoring (advisory subscriptions, review notes) · SIEM / log platform

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

  • Dated annual review record of the inventory · Policy repository / GRC workspace

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

  • Cryptographic inventory listing suites, protocols, purpose and location · Policy repository / GRC workspace
  • Crypto-agility or migration plan for deprecated algorithms · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Start with the 1 of 4 artefacts that already live in a system (SIEM / log platform); keep the periodic reviews but log each one as a dated record with a named reviewer.

Common gaps auditors find

Do this for your whole sheet

Paste the rows you run your controls from and get this mapping for every control at once, with the periodic-review ones flagged and a first move per row. No account for the first run.

Build my evidence sheet

12.3.2 Targeted risk analysis for each customized-approach requirement · 12.3.4 Annual review of hardware and software technologies