Automated Key Rotation for PCI-DSS 4.0 Compliance: How to Get It Right

PCI-DSS 4.0 tightens the requirements around cryptographic key management, mandating regular rotation of keys used for protecting sensitive data—including keys for both encryption and digital signing. These aren't just best practices anymore—they're compliance requirements. PCI-DSS 4.0 expects secure, repeatable, and auditable processes. Automation is the only way to achieve this at scale.

This blog post explains how automated key rotation can be implemented effectively, with a particular focus on asymmetric keys used in JWT signing and encryption. We’ll also show how Raidiam’s Trust Platform makes automated, policy-driven key management a reality.

Understanding the Difference Between Signing and Encryption Keys for PCI DSS Compliance

When working with JWTs, signing keys (JWS) ensure the token hasn’t been tampered with. Encryption keys (JWE), on the other hand, ensure the token payload is confidential and readable only by the intended recipient.

Both types of keys rely on asymmetric cryptography—typically with private/public key pairs—and both fall under PCI-DSS mandates.

JSON Web Signature (JWS)

• Uses the private key to sign the payload.

• Recipients verify it using the public key.

JSON Web Encryption (JWE)

• A random CEK (Content Encryption Key) encrypts the payload (symmetric encryption).

• The CEK is encrypted using the recipient’s public key (asymmetric encryption).

• The recipient uses their private key to decrypt the CEK and access the payload.

---

PCI-DSS 4.0: Key Rotation Requirements

PCI-DSS 4.0 introduces stricter expectations around the management of cryptographic keys, particularly when they’re used to protect sensitive authentication data or cardholder information. Here are the key requirements:

1. Keys must be rotated periodically

   Organizations are expected to implement regular key rotation schedules to minimize the risk of key compromise.

2. Key rotation should be automatic

   Manual rotation is discouraged. Instead, the process must be automated to ensure consistency, eliminate human error, and meet compliance requirements at scale.

3. Old keys must be retired

   Once a key has been replaced, it should no longer be used for encryption or decryption. Proper key retirement ensures that data remains secure and inaccessible via outdated keys.

4. All key lifecycle actions must be logged and auditable

   Every event—generation, usage, rotation, and retirement—must be recorded to create a clear audit trail. This helps with compliance reviews and incident investigations.

These guidelines apply equally to symmetric and asymmetric keys. Given the sensitivity of data they protect, proper key management is not just a best practice—it’s a mandate.

Why Manual Rotation Falls Short for PCI-DSS

Feature	Manual Rotation	Automated Rotation
Human error risk	High	Low
Predictable cadence	Inconsistent	Consistent
Token downtime	Possible	Minimal
Key tracking	Manual, brittle	Metadata + logs
Audit readiness	Painful	Built-in logging

Manual key rotation introduces risk, especially in setups with multiple participants exchanging JWTs. That’s why automated key rotation—via a secure and centralized system—is critical.

What Does Automated Asymmetric Key Rotation Look Like?

Automated asymmetric key rotation involves periodically generating new key pairs, securely storing private keys, and publishing updated public keys via a JWKS (JSON Web Key Set) endpoint. A scheduler or cron job typically triggers the rotation process.

After a new key pair is created, the public key is published to the JWKS endpoint and consumed by clients and authorization servers. The authorization server begins signing tokens with the new private key, while retaining the old key temporarily to support verification during the transition period. Clients fetch the updated JWKS to verify new tokens. After the grace period, the old keys are safely removed from both the JWKS and secure storage.

A modern system should:

• Generate new key pairs programmatically

• Update JWKS endpoints with new public keys

• Expire/revoke old keys on a defined schedule

• Notify clients when changes occur

• Log events for audit readiness

Developer Checklist for Automated Key Rotation

1. Use JWKS (JSON Web Key Sets) to expose public keys.

   JWKS provides a standardized, machine-readable format for publishing public keys used for verifying signatures or encrypting tokens. By exposing your keys through a JWKS endpoint, clients and authorization servers can dynamically fetch and cache the necessary key material, reducing the risk of key mismatches and simplifying key distribution across your ecosystem.

2. Rotate signing and encryption keys on a regular cadence.

   Regular key rotation limits the window of opportunity for attackers to misuse compromised keys. Establish a rotation schedule based on your security policies and compliance requirements. Automating this process ensures keys are refreshed consistently without service disruption, maintaining the overall security hygiene of your infrastructure.

3. Ensure key metadata includes kid (key identifier), alg (algorithm), and exp (expiry).

   Including a unique key identifier (kid) allows clients to select the correct key from a set when verifying tokens. The alg parameter specifies which cryptographic algorithm is used, ensuring compatibility and security expectations. Adding an exp (expiry) date signals when a key should no longer be trusted, facilitating timely retirement and rotation.

4. Use short-lived tokens to minimize exposure to key compromise.

   Short-lived access tokens reduce the risk posed by a leaked or compromised token since they become invalid quickly. Even if an attacker intercepts a token, its limited lifetime reduces the potential damage. Pairing short-lived tokens with frequent key rotation further strengthens your security posture.

5. Automate updates to your authorization server and clients.

   Key changes must propagate rapidly and reliably to all systems that issue or consume tokens. Automating these updates avoids configuration drift and human error, ensuring that authorization servers and client applications always validate tokens against the latest keys. This automation can be achieved through integration with JWKS endpoints and dynamic configuration refresh mechanisms.

6. Log all changes and access events.

   Comprehensive audit logs are crucial for security monitoring, troubleshooting, and forensic investigations. Recording key generation, rotation, revocation, and access events provides visibility into who accessed keys and when. These logs support compliance with regulatory requirements and help detect suspicious or unauthorized activity.

7. Implement fallbacks to handle in-flight tokens signed with old keys.

   During key rotation, tokens issued just before a key change may still be valid and need to be verified correctly. Supporting fallback mechanisms ensures these "in-flight" tokens remain accepted until they expire, avoiding user disruptions. This often involves keeping old keys available in the JWKS endpoint for a configurable grace period before fully retiring them.

Start small — use your CI pipeline to rotate signing keys every 90 days, push updates to your JWKS endpoint, and log key events to a central audit trail. Expand from there.

→ Learn how Raidiam Public Key Infrastructure can enable your organization to establish trust while exchanging data.

Tools That Can Help with PCI-DSS

Implementing automated key rotation and meeting PCI DSS 4.0 requirements is easier when using the right tools across your infrastructure stack:

Category	Purpose	Example Tools
Key Management Systems (KMS) & Vaults	Centralize and automate key lifecycle management	AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, Google Cloud KMS, HashiCorp Vault
CI/CD Pipelines	Automate key deployment and configuration changes	GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD
JWKS Key Rotation Automation	Rotate and expose JSON Web Key Sets (JWKS) using libraries or custom logic	jwks-rsa, node-jose, jose4j
Audit Logging & Monitoring	Maintain an auditable trail of key events and access	SIEM tools (e.g., Splunk, Datadog), AWS CloudTrail, Vault Audit Devices
Infrastructure as Code (IaC)	Manage KMS policies and Vault configs declaratively	Terraform, Pulumi, Ansible

How Raidiam Automates Key Rotation for PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance

Raidiam’s Trust Platform includes a fully integrated Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) designed to support robust, secure key management for organizations. This built-in PKI is responsible for issuing and managing asymmetric key pairs that are critical for enforcing modern API security protocols. It issues asymmetric key pairs that underpin essential cryptographic operations, including:

• Mutual TLS (mTLS) for establishing secure communication channel

• Signing (JWS) for token and message integrity

• Encryption (JWE) for securing data in transit

Unlike standalone certificate authorities or manual key vault setups, the Trust Platform automates key lifecycle management in a way that aligns with organizational governance and conformance needs. Keys are issued, rotated, and revoked through controlled, auditable workflows. Public keys are published automatically to a trusted JWKS endpoint, ensuring that relying parties always have access to current material.

Public keys are made available through automatically updated JWKS (JSON Web Key Set) endpoints. These endpoints conform to widely adopted standards, allowing relying parties to retrieve and cache key material securely and reliably. This removes the need for bespoke integrations or coordination between providers and consumers of data.

Sample JWKS

{
  "keys": [
    {
      "kty": "RSA",
      "use": "sig",
      "x5c": [
        "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"
      ],
      "n": "2in7OmQTuX1KDUV09_4TPApJ9GAkoTzDHN20hB-XWv1hMz-f3CV9bl-aX411OFutZUILwqqOnZDGMZ1wZO7_HqCHoXoHsPUdH8tyAUArtcbt1bT3j7QejKtx8JqrnWBf9x0jBdbZIJHQrUVHWlBzZWbksWLvcm2xe9q--V7gEoUIgHj7oKaMxihBpTlvCgtejxLzsmm4Wr9qhH44RMcYXc67B11oSZb6TCfUqpw1Tbo-CJxDg0_LfU2ksqhfzspDaSNWCCPrJQt91l5arcJsfa_hwF4eAJ0WrQXLveogz5U9KNjHaYCWY23gbH_PgdqvfkEA8V3TuNM2PKXTuc4DvQ",
      "e": "AQAB",
      "kid": "Ty7APWCYHx8JGRH3GJt1gwfnH4TpSuO0i4YruNtxH9k",
      "x5u": "https://keystore.sandbox.raidiam.io/79b34d52-125b-4e5a-8b69-db93e737aa78/Ty7APWCYHx8JGRH3GJt1gwfnH4TpSuO0i4YruNtxH9k.pem",
      "x5t#S256": "Ty7APWCYHx8JGRH3GJt1gwfnH4TpSuO0i4YruNtxH9k",
      "x5dn": "OU=79b34d52-125b-4e5a-8b69-db93e737aa78,O=Raidiam,C=UK"
    },
  ]
}

Raidiam key capabilities for PCI-DSS 4.0 compliance include:

• API-driven key generation and rotation

  Developers can programmatically manage cryptographic material as part of their deployment or CI/CD processes.

• Automatic JWKS publishing

  Public keys are served at dedicated, discoverable endpoints so consumers don’t need to track changes manually.

• Revocation and deactivation workflows

  Keys can be invalidated with immediate effect if compromised or retired, and this status is reflected across all dependent systems.

• Federated ecosystem support

  Keys are tied to organizations, applications, and roles, ensuring trust is established and enforced through shared infrastructure.

• Comprehensive audit logging

  Every key event—creation, rotation, usage, or revocation—is logged and available for compliance and incident response.

Having PKI at hand means that participating organizations can rotate keys without downtime, eliminate reliance on ad hoc tooling, and trust all other participants through shared, verifiable infrastructure. And with conformance automation built in, compliance doesn’t depend on manual reviews or fragile integrations.

Wrapping Up

With PCI-DSS 4.0 raising the bar for key management, automated key rotation is no longer optional. Asymmetric keys—especially those used in JWTs for signing and encryption—must be rotated securely, frequently, and with full auditability.

Whether you're running your own authorization infrastructure or participating in a federated ecosystem, tools like Raidiam’s Trust Platform give you everything needed to meet compliance while reducing operational overhead.

Payment Industry Webinar

Beyond Static Secrets:

Modernizing API Security for PCI DSS 4.0

Sign Up Now →