The Need for Disk Encryption and Advanced Password Protection in Healthcare

 
 
 
 
 
The Need for Disk Encryption and
Advanced Password Protection in Healthcare
 An AlertBoot Whitepaper
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Need for Disk Encryption and Advanced Password Protection in Healthcare  
Overview  The data security challenges in the healthcare industry have never been as challenging as they are today. Not only must healthcare providers comply with HIPAA regulations concerning patient privacy and electronic data security, they must also guard against identity theft as well more complex scenarios of insurance data theft, medical identity theft and the adulteration of health records. In addition, the latest information technology - from easily portable laptops, CDs, and USB "flash" drives (also called memory sticks) to e-mail, the internet and shared networks - while streamlining work for healthcare practitioners and administrators and helping with the free flow of information so vital to quality patient care, is also opening new avenues of risk for security breaches. At the global level, a maze of differing regulations and varying levels of IT infrastructure across countries create additional Fortunately there are challenges for data security and patient privacy in those countries solid and proven as well as in cross-border transactions. technologies that any healthcare Fortunately there are solid and proven technologies that any healthcare organization can implement to secure their data, organization can helping them comply with HIPAA and dealing with the other implement to secure security issues they face. Paramount among these are Password their data, helping Protection and Disk Encryption. them comply with ? Password Protection: Securing every computer and HIPAA and dealing laptop with password protection ensures that only users with the other with the appropriate password can use the computer at security issues all. Password Protection, while not a complete solution, is they face. a critical first line of defense in any healthcare environment because it restricts access to the computer itself. ? Disk Encryption: Very simply put, encryption is a way of "scrambling" the information on a disk so that only authorized users can "unscramble" it. Even if an encrypted computer or drive were stolen, the information on it would not be accessible, appearing merely as "gibberish". You can encrypt the data on a file, a particular drive (for example, a portable memory stick), or the full disk (called Full Disk Encryption). Most importantly, Disk Encryption is generally considered to meet HIPAA requirements for data protection. Simple enough for a local doctor's office to implement, yet robust
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enough to meet the demands of a major healthcare center, Password Protection and Disk Encryption, taken together, form the basis of a solid security framework that addresses many of the most pressing concerns in healthcare today. The Unique Security Challenges in Healthcare Complying with HIPAA Since the passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996, intended to deal systematically with the privacy of patients' medical and personal information, healthcare organizations from local physician's offices to world-class hospitals have been making major changes, both administratively and technologically, to ensure compliance. In addition to HIPAA's major focus on the privacy of all patient information, the Administration Simplification (AS) provisions in Title II of HIPAA go even further with regard to electronic data, establishing national standards for the exchange of electronic data that seek to increase efficiency and accuracy as well as to ensure the security and privacy of the electronic data. Both the privacy regulations and the security rules have substantial compliance ramifications for providers. But the HIPAA regulations, while explaining overall requirements and recommendatio... [download for more]