Compliance // PCI DSS
PCI DSS cardholder data discovery
PCI DSS starts with knowing where card data is. FileSentinel scans your Windows files for stored payment card numbers so you can shrink scope and remove what should not be there.
Know where the PAN is
Find stored cardholder data
PCI DSS expects you to locate stored account data and justify why it exists. Card numbers have a way of surviving in places they were never meant to: order exports, support tickets, refund spreadsheets, and email threads.
FileSentinel detects 13-to-19-digit payment card numbers and validates them with a Luhn checksum and network-prefix rules, which sharply cuts false positives. Findings are tagged PCI so they map cleanly to your cardholder-data inventory.
Scope reduction
Where card data hides
| Location | Typical source |
|---|---|
| Spreadsheets & CSV | Order, billing, and refund exports |
| PDF invoices | Statements and receipts |
| Email & text exports | Customers who pasted a card number |
| Screenshots | Captured checkout or payment screens (read via OCR) |
Reduce, then prove
Find it, remove it, report it
Every stored card number you remove is scope you no longer have to defend. FileSentinel redacts values and exports CSV, HTML, or PDF reports you can keep as evidence of your discovery and remediation work, all without uploading a single card number.
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Questions & answers
FAQ
Does FileSentinel make me PCI compliant?
It supports the data-discovery and remediation parts of PCI DSS. Finding and removing stored card data helps reduce and defend your scope, but full compliance involves controls FileSentinel does not cover on its own.
Does it just match digits or validate cards?
It validates. FileSentinel applies a Luhn checksum and network-prefix rules before flagging a payment card, so real card numbers surface and random digit strings do not.
Is any card data uploaded during the scan?
No. Scanning and remediation are entirely on-device, with no cloud and no upload step.
Can I keep evidence of the scan?
Yes. Export CSV, HTML, or PDF reports of findings and remediation, and rely on the remediation history for an audit trail.
Get FileSentinel
PCI DSS Cardholder Data Discovery Scanner
Install FileSentinel from the Microsoft Store and scan your files for sensitive data, all on your Windows PC with nothing uploaded.