RSI Security

Category: Compliance Standards

Staying informed about all of the cyber security compliance standards is essential to keeping your company safe from hackers. Read on to learn about the various steps you can take to stay up to date with your industry’s compliance standards.

  • What Are the Different Types of HITRUST Assessments?

    What Are the Different Types of HITRUST Assessments?

    Ever since 1996, with the passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), healthcare organizations have been assessing the risks that are associated with electronic health records (EHRs). Now, with nearly every hospital utilizing the latest gadgets in healthcare technology from cloud storage to automation to mobile tablets and devices, the need for protecting patient data is at an all-time high.

    To help manage and reduce the risk of data breaches, healthcare organizations promote the use of security frameworks. One such framework is the HITRUST community security framework (CSF). The reason this framework is among the most trusted in the healthcare industry is how it can be adjusted to fit any HIPAA mandate or new healthcare law — thus never leaving room for penalties due to security issues.

    In fact, it’s for this very reason healthcare organizations are starting to require their business associates to be HITRUST certified. If you’re considering HITRUST CSF, then you should be aware of the different types of HITRUST assessment.

    (more…)

  • How Long Does it Take to Get HITRUST Certified?

    How Long Does it Take to Get HITRUST Certified?

    Over the past two decades, many healthcare companies have struggled to transition from physical to digital record keeping as mandated by the HITECH Act. Naturally, the convoluted changes, standards, and stringencies outlined therein have left businesses confused, scratching their heads, wondering how best to wade through this quagmire. As a result, the total overhaul of such a massive system has moved at a glacial pace. 

    To make matters more complicated, as the healthcare industry develops, growing evermore dependent upon emerging and expanding technologies in order to cache and deliver electronic healthcare records [EHR], ensuring compliance and maintaining cybersecurity has become an increasingly intricate ballet. A large aspect of compliance involves obtaining your HITRUST certification, which is no simple process. So, to help you prepare for the obstacles ahead, below, you’ll find our comprehensive guide on the HITRUST certification process and timeline.

    (more…)

  • How HITRUST Regulates Risk Management in the Healthcare Indusry

    How HITRUST Regulates Risk Management in the Healthcare Indusry

    One of the greatest perils the healthcare community must confront involves the ever-present danger of major information security threats. To make matters worse, these are not stagnant hazards; rather, they’re continuously shifting and evolving in response to each newly erected digital moat, palisade, or bulwark. So, as the industry’s information communication technology [ICT] infrastructure becomes more complex and sophisticated, so too do the malicious programs and people seeking entrance into such systems. 

    Fortunately, defensive systems and protocols have been raised in order to ward off the hoards of 21st-century barbarians. Chief amongst these measures is HITRUST, which has become the industry standard for regulating and mitigating risk. But what are the major cybersecurity risks in healthcare and how does HITRUST help prevent them? 

    Read on to discover the answers to these questions and more!  

    (more…)

  • How Do HITRUST and NIST Work Together in Data Protection?

    How Do HITRUST and NIST Work Together in Data Protection?

    HITRUST vs. NIST

    With the passing of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996 came the need to update healthcare records onto electronic devices. Although, the adoption of these electronic health records (EHRs) primarily came later, when the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was passed in 2009. With the combined set of rules and regulations, being both HIPAA and HITECH compliant became a complex puzzle for healthcare organizations to piece together.

    But data and data security issues weren’t going to wait. With the significant proliferation of computers, smartphones, and other electronic devices, data security and privacy regulations needed to be streamlined and enforced. Thus, frameworks for data security and security compliance were created.

    NIST and HITRUST are both frameworks that help healthcare organizations stay HIPAA compliant to avoid penalties for data security breaches. Though the question then becomes: which framework should be used, and are the two compatible? To explore these questions and more, read ahead.

    (more…)

  • What Does HITRUST Stand For?

    What Does HITRUST Stand For?

    In a rapidly evolving, digital healthcare industry, the protection of your private data is more important than ever. As the years have passed and the U.S. healthcare industry made the slow transition from physical to digital recordkeeping, various laws and measures were enacted to better protect customers and ensure that healthcare-related organizations were acting in compliance.

    One avenue through which a healthcare organization will achieve compliance is via the HITRUST Alliance. Naturally, you may read this and wonder, what does HITRUST stand for? So, if you want the answer to that and much much more, read on to discover everything you need to know about HITRUST. 

    (more…)

  • How HITECH Protects Private Patient Information

    How HITECH Protects Private Patient Information

    2019 seems to be the year of information breaches. 2019 is reaching the fourth quarter soon, but this year has already seen at least 25 million patient records breached; this is a staggering ten million more than in 2018. 

    The breaches seem to be getting larger as well according to the ten biggest healthcare data breaches, with more than 200,000 records breached at a time. Additionally, not all healthcare companies are reporting the breaches in a timely manner as required by law. 

    How can you establish trust as a healthcare provider or entity that safeguards patient data? 

    (more…)

  • How Are E-Commerce Websites Affected By GDPR Regulations?

    How Are E-Commerce Websites Affected By GDPR Regulations?

    E-Commerce websites are constantly under scrutiny for a myriad of reasons. Whether it be from consumers or regulatory committees, these websites need to play defense 24/7 to ensure their networks remain compromise-free from the threat of hackers. This is one of the main reasons why the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was adopted in Europe in 2006.

    Although GDPR may be somewhat of a regulatory headache for e-commerce websites, it is also important for keeping consumer data secure. With an estimated average of 4,800 e-commerce websites every month becoming compromised by hackers inserting malicious code into their website to steal payment information such as credit card numbers, names, and more – there is no denying that a strong defense is the perfect solution.  

    This is why having a GDPR compliance checklist for e-commerce companies is incredibly advantageous in helping overcome these malicious network intruders. Let’s walk you through our GDPR e-commerce checklist that helps online retailers understand the importance of GDPR and what rules and regulations they should familiarize themselves and their IT teams with.

    (more…)

  • HITRUST Scoring Guide: What is it and How Does it Work?

    HITRUST Scoring Guide: What is it and How Does it Work?

    In 2007, the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) took the world of healthcare security by storm when it introduced a framework that does not only protect sensitive information but also manage risks for global organizations across third-party supply chains. 

    Technically-speaking, the HITRUST Common Security Framework (CSF) characterizes and transforms HITECH and HIPAA requirements into a standard functional procedure which is subsequently documented and compared to other data privacy and security regulations. 

    This allows healthcare organizations to effectively cultivate compliance and be able to meet an extensive range of regulatory requirements. Apart from bringing together HIPAA and HITECH, the HITRUST CSF also boasts globally-recognized security standards such as PCI, COBIT, FTC, ISO, Red Flags, and NIST which work together to take a visionary approach to risk mitigation and data protection.

    (more…)

  • Best Practices For FINTECH Compliance

    Best Practices For FINTECH Compliance

    Today, you can snap a photo of a check and deposit it without ever leaving your couch, making banking and investing more convenient than ever. This revolution is largely thanks to the rise of Financial Technology or Fintech. Fintech’s impact reaches beyond ordinary people, allowing companies to improve operational efficiency and customer convenience.  With this new technology comes a greater responsibility to protect consumers’ financial and personal information by keeping up-to-date on Fintech compliance regulations. 

    Are you a financial institution or startup trying to achieve Fintech compliance? Read on to find out how to comply with the rules and regulations. 

    (more…)

  • HITECH Enforcement & Penalties

    HITECH Enforcement & Penalties

    When you’re sick and at the doctor’s office, you have to reveal a lot of personal information for the physician to properly treat you. Within your file contains your demographic information, your personal medical history, mental health, tests and lab results, insurance information, and more. All of this falls under a specific category called protected health information (PHI).

    In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in order to protect patients’ PHI. Privacy and security weren’t the only topics covered in HIPAA. It also addressed health insurance prices and changes, encouraged the use of electronic health records (EHRs), and developed the groundwork for a national healthcare standard.

    HIPAA was amended — rather, bolstered — in 2009, when Congress passed the HITECH Act. It addressed many of the problems arising from HIPAA and helped bring the framework into the 21st century. It also brought with it harsher penalties for HIPAA noncompliance. To avoid these fees, healthcare providers and their business associates must understand the HITECH Act penalties and enforcement.

    (more…)