What is the primary focus of Requirement 5 in PCI DSS?

Requirement 5 of PCI DSS specifically focuses on protecting stored cardholder data. This requirement emphasizes the importance of ensuring that cardholder data, when stored, is adequately protected against unauthorized access and breaches. Organizations must implement various security measures such as encryption, tokenization, and secure key management to safeguard this sensitive information.

Protecting stored cardholder data is critical because this data, if compromised, can lead to significant financial losses and damage to an organization's reputation. The requirement outlines specific controls that must be in place to effectively protect this information, including restricting access to data and implementing security technologies to enhance its protection.

While the other options relate to important aspects of overall data protection and security, they do not reflect the primary focus of Requirement 5. Encrypting data during transmission falls under another requirement that addresses data transmission security, implementing access control measures is a broader topic covered in various PCI DSS requirements, and tracking network access relates more directly to monitoring and logging, which is also covered in other requirements. Therefore, the emphasis on protecting stored cardholder data underpins the critical nature of maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive payment information within the PCI DSS framework.