Episode 13 — Govern Third-Party Service Providers Without Blind Spots.
This episode teaches how to assess and manage service provider reliance in a way that protects the merchant, clarifies responsibility boundaries, and holds up during QSA review. You’ll learn how third parties can expand scope through shared systems, admin access, hosting, support tools, and data flows, even when the business believes the provider “handles PCI.” We define what evidence typically demonstrates appropriate oversight, including written responsibility assignments, service descriptions, attestation artifacts, and operational proof that controls are actually working where the provider touches the environment. You’ll also explore how to detect common gaps, such as contracts that do not cover security responsibilities, unclear segmentation between tenant environments, missing incident notification obligations, or a mismatch between what the provider attests to and what the merchant relies on. Exam questions often hinge on who is accountable for which control and what a QSA must verify, so you’ll practice reasoning through shared responsibility scenarios with concrete, defensible conclusions. Produced by BareMetalCyber.com, where you’ll find more cyber audio courses, books, and information to strengthen your educational path. Also, if you want to stay up to date with the latest news, visit DailyCyber.News for a newsletter you can use, and a daily podcast you can commute with.
