The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered nine companies to file Special Reports detailing how they assess their clients’ compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). Payment card issuing companies require businesses that process over one million card transactions per year to undergo PCI DSS compliance assessments, or audits, performed by PCI Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs), to ensure that the businesses comply with PCI DSS and are adequately protecting their customers’ sensitive personal information. The Order includes a laundry list of requests related to the targeted companies’ PCI DSS assessment process, from the bidding for and staffing of compliance assessments, to the number and percentage of clients that are ultimately determined to be PCI DSS compliant or non-compliant.