Overview#
Payment card numbers appear in places they should not: scanned forms, call notes, uploaded screenshots, email attachments, and free-text evidence. Once raw card data lands in the wrong store, the organisation inherits risk it never intended to take on. Payment Card DLP and Tokenization detects card numbers early, replaces them with governed tokens, and tightly controls any later reveal.
The module combines Luhn and brand-aware detection, upload scanning, OCR text protection, reversible tokenization where policy permits, role-gated reveal, key rotation support, and durable audit evidence. It is designed for public sector, healthcare, utilities, law enforcement, and regulated enterprises that occasionally handle payment data but do not want raw card numbers spreading through operational systems.
Key Features#
- Payment Card Detection: Identify likely card numbers using format, issuer pattern, context, and Luhn checksum validation.
- OCR Text Protection: Replace card numbers discovered during OCR review before raw recognised text becomes broadly searchable.
- Upload-Time Scanning: Scan final uploaded bytes before evidence or documents enter normal processing.
- Reversible Tokenization: Where policy permits, store a governed token that can be revealed only through an approved workflow.
- Role-Gated Reveal: Require explicit permission, purpose, and audit capture before a user can view protected card data.
- Customer-Controlled Keys: Support tenant key ownership and fail-closed handling when the required key is unavailable.
- Rotation Recovery: Preserve controlled access through planned key rotation without exposing raw values.
- Durable Audit Parity: Detection, tokenization, failed reveal, approved reveal, and key events are all auditable.
Use Cases#
- Evidence Upload Protection: An investigator uploads a screenshot that contains a card number, and the platform tokenizes the value before the file becomes searchable.
- Council Payment Enquiry: A resident includes card details in a service request, and staff see a redacted operational view while finance users follow a controlled reveal path if needed.
- Healthcare Billing Attachment: A scanned billing document is OCR processed with card numbers protected before review.
- Internal Fraud Review: Authorised investigators reveal tokenized card data for a defined purpose, with every reveal captured in the audit trail.
- PCI Scope Reduction: Organisations avoid unnecessary spread of raw cardholder data across case, evidence, and analytics workflows.
Integration#
Payment card DLP connects to file upload, OCR, evidence review, redaction, search, case management, key management, role-based access control, and audit logging. It works alongside broader data loss prevention policies but adds payment-card specific detection, tokenization, and reveal governance.
Open Standards#
- PCI DSS v4.0: Controls support protection, restriction, monitoring, and auditability of cardholder data.
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022: Access control, cryptographic protection, logging, and monitoring controls frame operational governance.
- NIST SP 800-57: Key management practices align with guidance for cryptographic key lifecycle and rotation.
- FIPS 140-3 Validated Cryptography: Deployments can use validated cryptographic modules for token protection where required.
- FIPS 180-4, SHA-256: Audit and package integrity records can use SHA-256 hashes for tamper evidence.
- GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679: Tokenization and minimisation reduce unnecessary exposure of personal financial data.
- ISO 8601: Detection, tokenization, reveal, and audit timestamps use standard date-time formatting.
Last Reviewed: 2026-06-26 Last Updated: 2026-06-26