Understanding the Significance of PCI Compliance

There are certain rigorous requirements companies must adhere to when processing cardholder data, in order to be PCI compliant. Due to the ongoing compromises occurring at a number of levels, various card brands set up different security programs to safeguard and protect cardholder data, before PCI was established. The major credit card issuers formed PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance standards to safeguard personal information and guarantee protection when transactions are processed using a payment card. The five major card brands (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Card and JCB) then decided to unify their policies and procedures under one universal standard that was called the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). PCI applies to all organizations or merchants, irrespective of size or number of transactions that accepts, conveys or stores any cardholder data. To put it simply, PCI DSS requirements apply to any customer of an organization that pays the merchant directly using a credit card or even with a debit card. The PCI security standards council  administers the payment industry and make certain that all entities accepting, storing or transmitting credit card data adhere to the PCI DSS. Many companies were under the impression that they were all set after complying with such regulations as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and healthcare compliance discovered that their controls were not adequate to meet the PCI DSS.

The significance of PCI to an organization

With PCI DSS, organizations can safeguard important customer information as well as payment card details. IT also protects against the loss of significant business information and the cost associated with data compromise. PCI protect against the negative publicity associated with a data breech and guarantees constant customer confidence in the use of payment cards. Reducing the number of security breaches and protecting the card brands is the main aim of PCI.

Achieving PCI Compliance

PCI compliance can be achieved by an organization by meeting the security essentials that are set out within the PCI DSS. By presenting a validated Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) or by undergoing an onsite assessment with a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), an organization can become PCI DSS compliant. The volume of transactions that are handled per annum is also a deciding factor. If an organization handles over six million transactions it is necessary to carry out an onsite assessment each year by a QSA in addition to quarterly network scans. In cases where organizations carry out twenty thousand to six million transactions, it is necessary to fill out an SAQ and experience quarterly scans of their external network in order to conform to PCI compliance. When the member of PCI security standards council falls prey to a security breach, they can suffer a substantial fine and be prohibited from handling future credit card payments.

Businesses also can help themselves in being PCI compliant by purchasing sophisticated security equipment, configuring it to minimize risk, and implementing a host of policies and protocols that comply with the latest data security standards.

Click here for more on IT Compliance, compliance management solution

HIPAA - Ensuring Security of medical data through compliance

HIPAA HITECH Acts, it has now become mandatory for them to protect Patient healthcare information and show to the authorities that they have implemented policies and practices that are in conformity with the control requirements of the Regulations. The Department of Health and Human Services of United States of America has enacted Compliance regulations for all medical practioners in the country. To ensure privacy and security of sensitive health information, medical records and confidential data of any individual through appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safety measures, the US government brought the HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act into effect in the year 1996.  Further the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act came into force in early 2009, extending the privacy requirements enacted in HIPAA beyond the health care providers to the services and companies with which they do business, ensuring that in case of any violation of the HIPAA security regulations, the entities and their business associates covered under the act will face penalties for the same. The combination of HIPAA and HITECH compliance would definitely ensure that these records are encrypted and secure during any associated electronic transmission of health information.

Health care providers who need to comply with this healthcare regulation may be large health insurance companies, company health plans or small and medical enterprises and their business associates handling Medicare and Medicaid. All medical practioners, clinics, hospitals, psychologists, chiropractors, nursing homes, pharmacies and even dentists, who handle patient health information, are covered entities of this regulations and need to be compliant. Even the Healthcare clearinghouses processing data also need to meet healthcare compliances.   

Cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), innovations from the technical world, have now made it possible to offer comprehensive and scalable compliance solutions from the cloud. Some of its clear advantages are the low cost in remaining compliant, easy updates of regulations and software code, multi-tenanted solution with different stakeholders having secure and exclusive access to their data, central repository of updated regulations citations, best practices accessible to the users while assessing their compliance status, advanced risk algorithms that help prioritizing the action plan for remediation, unification of controls from different regulations and standards, and many others.  This has helped medical practioners concentrate on their patients and leave the compliance processes to the experts in the field. The development of unified security monitoring system and compliance management software work towards safeguarding the patient health records within the policy framework and guidelines.

Click here for more on governance risk, PCI Compliance

Tips to choose a HIPAA-HITECH Compliant Solution

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) places a large regulatory burden on organizations that deal with patient health-related information. The HIPAA Act was passed in the interest of securing sensitive patient health care information and availing health insurance benefits. All business organizations have to comply with the HIPAA security rules covering all types of safeguards. The HIPAA/HITECH Act has resulted in significant changes to the industry’s approach to data protection.  HITECH compliance is most likely to influence every facet of your operations like business and healthcare processes - IT data security, retention, and monitoring; contracts and business relationships. It is therefore necessary to have a better understanding of the compliance process that will prove beneficial to the patients, employees and businesses. Medical practices and their Business Associates can become HIPAA compliant in a very cost-effective manner without requiring deep domain expertise, by just opting for an efficient and compliant solution.

There are a couple of HIPAA compliant software available in the market. But in selecting the right solution, the following tips can help:

●        Does it support uploading of documents that can be shown as evidence of compliance to the auditors or authorities?

●        Is the solution cost effective without having to invest heavily into hardware, software and expensive updates?

●        Does it offer a central repository for all compliance related up-to-date regulatory controls, documentary evidence, Security policies, best practices, etc and easily accessible to the user?

●        Can the solution provide a common interface to various stakeholders such as Auditors, Managed Compliance Providers, Business Associates, and users?

●        Will it facilitate unification of controls under different regulations?

●        How extensive are the reports and risk management algorithms?

●        How simple is the user interface that non-IT savvy users can easily handle the application?

Investing in a solution that can handle compliance requirements easily helps healthcare providers to ensure best healthcare compliance. And to ensure this, adequate steps must be taken to reinforce safeguards for EMRs/EHRs and facilitate secure messaging of this valuable data. The risk and impact of a security breach has become more significant with great number of health information put into electronic form and shared across the healthcare system. Irrespective of which solution is chosen, it is vital to ensure that staff dealing with patients or clients is trained in a uniform, facility specific, HIPAA compliance procedure. With the right compliant software, organizations can achieve HIPAA compliance, and also reduce the risk involved from hackers and misuse of information.

Click here for more on IT security compliance, vulnerability management solution

e-Framework of compliance for Enterprises - Compliance Management Software

Every organization, whether big or small, needs to conform to certain stated requirements. This compliance is achieved through various management processes such as regulations, strategies, contracts and policies. Compliance management is not a new term for the industries, but in today’s industrial scenario, Governance, Risk management and Compliance are grouped under one umbrella as GRC and it is a new way of adopting an integrated approach to corporate governance, enterprise risk management and corporate compliance.

The compliance management software solution has paved the way for an integrated approach to the various compliance issues faced by any organisation. Management of compliance procedures traditionally, were done at department levels. With the industries going global and user groups spread worldwide, these compliance initiatives have become complicated and intertwined with regulatory and organisational requirements. This intertwined network brings down the efficiency of the organisation and poses a great risk to its existence.

The advantage of using compliance management software is that it continuously monitors the process across enterprises. The compliance dashboards highlight issues and triggers off alerts that need immediate attention and correction from the respective organization authorities. With an automated flow of information assessments and testing methods, the integrated document management system controls change and keeps business process in sync, complete with audit and change reports. This software also provides the managers track the status of issues till these are solved as per the compliance procedures. Further, it provides for workflow, document management, inventory controls, compliance scanner, and detailed access controls through a secure web based interface.

The impact of the use of virtual desktops and cloud computing has effected every organization. This has made the business world a smaller place and has increased the complexity of security and management of resources. With resources spread globally and in a virtual space, the need for a cloud based automated IT security and compliance management solution makes enormous sense that consolidates GRC compliance management solution and information security that is easily adaptable with a built-in support to various compliance management frameworks and to different industry segments. The compliance management software with an effective system of IT governance, and advanced risk mitigation system, will definitely cover threats from all areas whether external, internal, deliberated or accidental. Additionally, it would also be flexible enough to seamlessly accommodate new regulations and policies that would be developed in future.

Also read on: PCI Compliance, Healthcare compliance here.

Tips to Ensure HITECH Compliance

THE HITECH or Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) came into effect on February 17, 2009 aimed at providing funds and safeguarding the usage of electronic exchange of health information. This Act has brought in significant changes in the healthcare industry's approach to data protection. In order to reduce data breaches, the new Act makes it mandatory for healthcare organizations to notify  privacy breaches to their patients. With greater emphasis laid on storing and safeguarding of vital patient information, the new compliance rule states that access to patient information should be restricted.

The need for effective documentation of policies and procedures on security-related issues has left many healthcare providers worrying about adhering to these compliance measures. On matters such as risk assessments, incident reports, and logging system activities, healthcare providers are uncertain as to how to handle these issues. By investing in a solution that can handle compliance requirements easily and effectively, healthcare providers can efficiently manage these matters, ensuring best HITECH compliance. Steps must be taken to reinforce safeguards for EMRs/EHRs and facilitate secure storage and movement of these valuable data. With large number of health information elements taking an electronic form that enables sharing across the healthcare system, the risk and impact of a security breach of the electronic data has become more significant. The following tips can help healthcare facilities prepare for HITECH regulations.

●        Categorizing of Content by PHI
●        Ensure the Protection of PHI at rest and in motion

●        Ensure secure exchange of files

●        Track and ensure correct Message delivery

With the creation of suitable secure information exchange, it can be assured that healthcare facilities are on the right path to meeting the requirements of the HITECH Act. It is therefore important to seek out a compliance management software solution that can offer optimized HITECH compliance management techniques that can be of great advantage to any healthcare provider.

Click here for more on compliance healthcare, ISO 27002

How Prepared Are You for the Upcoming HIPAA Audit?

With the long overdue HIPAA privacy and security compliance audit program scheduled to begin later this year or early next year, it’s time for every healthcare entity to do a reality check and find out if their privacy and security policies really work. Is your organization prepared for the upcoming HIPAA compliance audit? If yes, how well are you prepared?

“An important component of preparing for a potential HIPAA compliance audit is to complete a ‘walk through’ to make sure privacy and security policies and procedures are practical and effective” says Adam Greene, (a veteran health law attorney and a former key regulator at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he played a fundamental role in administering and enforcing HIPAA privacy, security, and breach notification rules) in his article ‘HIPAA Audits: Preparation Steps’. Most organizations formulate policies and procedures, assuming that they would work best to meet their privacy and security needs. But as in Greene’s words, “in the reality of a complex and busy environment” these policies and procedures may not work as expected. It is therefore of prime importance to conduct a self-audit to identify areas that may require policy or procedural changes, and ensure optimal HIPAA compliance.

According to Adam Greene, there are four things that are crucial when preparing for the HIPAA compliance audit: First is to make sure that all your privacy and security policies are up-to-date. Second is to ensure that your employees are comprehensively trained in the latest privacy and security protocols. Third is to formulate a clear sanctions policy to ensure that employees do not violate these protocols. And fourth is to be prepared with extensive documentation to demonstrate your compliance management efforts.

So, while you may have put in place policies and procedures to protect sensitive information, merely doing this will no longer suffice. To effectively handle the HIPAA audit, you need to keep track of how your security and privacy measures work, and also maintain adequate supporting records. This is where our SecureGRC solution may come in handy.

SecureGRC is an automated and integrated IT security and compliance management platform, which not only offers a comprehensive threat management capability, but also provides a unified view of your compliance status, making it easy to keep track of compliance related information. It holistically covers all aspects of threats – internal or external, known or unknown, intentional or unintentional, deliberate or accidental through an effective risk mitigation system.

This solution is flexible and scalable to address new requirements, giving you the capability to seamlessly manage existing and potential risks. Its 24X7 information security monitoring and real-time reporting capabilities enable you to effectively manage threats. And most importantly, the centralized dashboard view summarizes the compliance status helping you generate comprehensive reports to help you demonstrate compliance for any regulatory or standard-based audits, including the periodic HIPAA compliance audit.

Know more information about - compliance management software here.

Staying Clear of Health Information Breaches

Did you know that 2.7 million Americans were affected from around 32 major health information breach incidents recently? The bulk of the people were affected by the information breach that occurred with the Insurer Health Net and its business associate IBM. The Federal list released on June 22^nd lists all the major healthcare information breaches that occurred from September 2009 wherein somewhere to the tune of around 11 million individuals were affected. The Health information breaches continued unabated with firstly the health net incident followed closely with the theft of a desktop computer at the Eisenhower medical center that compromised information security of over 5, 00,000 individuals.


There was large number of information security breaches since 2009 ranging from thefts of hard drives (BlueCross Blueshield of Tennessee), laptop (AvMed), and backup tapes (New York City Health &Hospitals Corp.) resulting in compromising sensitive medical and health information of millions of people. Even as the full and final version of the HITECH breach notification rule is expected to be released later this year as part of an ‘omnibus’ package that would include several rules, the current version requires that organizations should conduct risk assessment to determine any incident that could be a potential threat and if it does cause harm, the eventual breach must be reported.


So is it really that difficult for healthcare organizations to take the right action as far mitigating such information risks are concerned? Actually no! It is not difficult if a prudent medical practitioner or healthcare enterprise owner ensures that healthcare compliance measures are in place by adopting the appropriate HITECH compliance solution. All that a healthcare organization needs to do is to enforce such a security policy that can restrict any unauthorized access. SecureGRC, an automated compliance solution from eGestalt, can help healthcare organizations deal with their compliance woes comprehensively. The solution is so designed that it can identify, remediate and maintain HIPAA and HITECH compliance for all healthcare organizations that handle Patient Health Information.


SecureGRC is equipped to help healthcare organizations achieve and maintain compliance to regulations set forth in both HIPAA and HITECH acts. Additionally, since the solution can be delivered via Cloud, not requiring any custom hardware investments, the compliance solution is actually future-proof! The solution not only automates the audit process but also provides concrete evidence of what risks need to be addressed and also how it should be addressed. eGestalt makes it easy to stay clear of Health information breaches with its fully optimized solution that addresses all healthcare compliance issues.


Know more information about – vendor management and governance risk and compliance here.

Why should every medical practice be HIPAA compliant?

The HIPAA act is a regulation that sees to it that healthcare professionals, insurance enterprises and other medical practitioners understand the importance of handling, transmitting, and safeguarding the usage of patient information in the best possible manner. Being HIPAA compliant means having to abide as per its stringent regulatory measures and comprehending the importance of the security of patient health information. The act covers all issues regarding healthcare medical insurance, abuse of patient health information and it provides decided guidelines that can ably protect the interests of patients. To have a trouble-free medical practice, medical practitioners need to ensure that they are HIPAA compliant.

HIPAA standardizes healthcare transactions and understands the problems that patients may face. It therefore also includes some regulations about tax security for health savings accounts. It also has certain specifications that direct specific people on the way to handle life insurance premium deductions from tax returns. Medical practitioners should ensure that their systems are updated as per the HIPAA regulations to avoid any sort of security breaches that may compromise any sort of patient information data. So even if you are a thriving private medical practitioner you would do well to ensure that only your authorized personnel have access to patient health information and they too should be made to understand the importance of the rules of regulatory healthcare compliance. In case your staff are new to the concept it becomes the duty of the medical practitioner to ensure that the staff are educated about the different measures and different ways to protect patient information and also caution them regarding the abuse of such information that can have disastrous results for the practitioner as well as the practice itself.

Additionally, all staff dealing with such information should be made to understand that any kind of unsuitable disclosure of confidential health information of patient can be dangerous for them as well, wherein they could be held liable for abuse of patient information and be dishonorably discharged from their duties and also be asked to pay penalties for the same. The penalties that medical practitioners have to face can be pretty serious; it can range from fines of close to $25,000 a year for different violations to even $250,000. In some cases the offending parties can be imprisoned as well that could go to as high as 10 years in prison especially in cases where in there is glaring evidence of deliberate abuse of the confidential patient health data and information.

Given such serious penalties it is better that every medical practitioner understands the importance of being HIPAA compliant and therefore employs the necessary solutions and systems to maintain a healthcare regulatory compliant medical practice.

Know more information about - compliance management software and IT security compliance management here.

Why should every medical practice be HIPAA compliant?

The HIPAA act is a regulation that sees to it that healthcare professionals, insurance enterprises and other medical practitioners understand the importance of handling, transmitting, and safeguarding the usage of patient information in the best possible manner. Being HIPAA compliant means having to abide as per its stringent regulatory measures and comprehending the importance of the security of patient health information. The act covers all issues regarding healthcare medical insurance, abuse of patient health information and it provides decided guidelines that can ably protect the interests of patients. To have a trouble-free medical practice, medical practitioners need to ensure that they are HIPAA compliant. 

HIPAA standardizes healthcare transactions and understands the problems that patients may face. It therefore also includes some regulations about tax security for health savings accounts. It also has certain specifications that direct specific people on the way to handle life insurance premium deductions from tax returns. Medical practitioners should ensure that their systems are updated as per the HIPAA regulations to avoid any sort of security breaches that may compromise any sort of patient information data. So even if you are a thriving private medical practitioner you would do well to ensure that only your authorized personnel have access to patient health information and they too should be made to understand the importance of the rules of regulatory healthcare compliance. In case your staff are new to the concept it becomes the duty of the medical practitioner to ensure that the staff are educated about the different measures and different ways to protect patient information and also caution them regarding the abuse of such information that can have disastrous results for the practitioner as well as the practice itself. 

Additionally, all staff dealing with such information should be made to understand that any kind of unsuitable disclosure of confidential health information of patient can be dangerous for them as well, wherein they could be held liable for abuse of patient information and be dishonorably discharged from their duties and also be asked to pay penalties for the same. The penalties that medical practitioners have to face can be pretty serious; it can range from fines of close to $25,000 a year for different violations to even $250,000. In some cases the offending parties can be imprisoned as well that could go to as high as 10 years in prison especially in cases where in there is glaring evidence of deliberate abuse of the confidential patient health data and information. 

Given such serious penalties it is better that every medical practitioner understands the importance of being HIPAA compliant and therefore employs the necessary solutions and systems to maintain a healthcare regulatory compliant medical practice. 

Know more information about - compliance management software and IT security compliance here.

Healthcare compliance requirements made Simple

Healthcare professionals often have to deal with quite a lot of healthcare compliance requirements connected to different operational procedures, service delivery practices, and managing of records. The general regulatory compliance requirements and industry standards include HIPAA, HITECH compliance and other health safety regulations as indicated by state and national healthcare administration. This is done to be assured that all medical practitioners and providers maintain and ensure safety of personal health records. The HITECH Act which stands for Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) came into effect on February 17, 2009 with the objective of funding the expansion of a nationalized health information infrastructure that could ably improve health care and protect the utilization of health information. Meant to further enhance the security measures of the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), everyone from healthcare providers, medical practitioners etc, came under the ambit of HITECH.

Healthcare professionals need to ensure that they have a comprehensive compliance program that provides them a solution that can address their compliance requirements. The first and foremost health compliance requirement for a healthcare provider is to equip themselves with such a compliance solution that can handle efficient auditing processes to handle all errors connected with medical bills. Additionally, it should be optimized enough to handle all compliance requirements with ease. Evaluating risks is another thing that the solution should offer by way of handling the documentation processes involved in abiding as per the compliance regulations. The healthcare provider must opt for such a solution that can guarantee to keep them abreast of all the new regulations that may keep cropping up within the healthcare compliance sphere. Data protection is another area of concern and the solution should cater to this as well. 

The new healthcare compliance requirements has set certain factors that requires all healthcare providers become HIPAA-HITECH compliant else they can be liable for penalties. Non-compliance will result in healthcare providers not getting any financial benefits. Violation of health information privacy rules will also result in heavy penalties. Getting your entire set of compliance requirements outsourced is also another way of ensuring that your compliance standards are met efficiently. Building an all-inclusive security structure can be extremely valuable for any healthcare provider since it will protect the provider from any security breach. Healthcare providers should opt for a solution that promises great value for money and is truly effective in every sense of the word. 

Know more about - compliance management software and IT security compliance here.

Improving Business Prospects with PCI Compliance Adherence

The use of credit cards for any financial transaction has given customers the freedom to spend anywhere anytime without the fear of being robbed or losing any money. Every business has understood the significance of credit cards in enhanced commercial relations. It is a huge impetus for the business when a trader provides the credit card facility for the convenience of their customers.

However the use of these cards without any prohibiting precautions has led to its blatant misuse. This definitely causes distress to the customers and also affects the business adversely. A business that is unable to control any security breaches and threats will lose its customers if appropriate and decisive action is not implemented on time. These security issues should be taken seriously from the very beginning so that there are no major disasters leading to ultimate consequences.

As per industry regulations, every business that is involved in credit card transactions has to enforce robust security measures to comply with the PCI-DSS compliance standards. It has been observed that most of the times the credit card data that is stored is not protected or the system lacks in credible protection parameters. The companies do not take the pains to undertake effective scanning procedures for detection of any unusual movements or vulnerabilities existent in software. Security breaches can also occur when companies cannot prevent the data from entering the less secured zones in the network.

It has also been seen that the encryption methods are not reliable as they do not perform consistently. The practice of keeping records of the activities going on in the network has not been followed meticulously by all, thus providing an ideal condition for unauthorized and illegal entries. It is a matter of grave concern for a business if there is any occurrence of credit card fraud and misuse. It needs to immediately employ remediation measures to ensure blockage of unwanted entities.

Nothing can be better than an automated IT security compliance process that has the qualities to meet the PCI compliance requirements and address all security concerns responsibly. It helps you to quickly assess whether the needed controls are effectively in place through a dashboard perspective, quickly drilling down to areas of concern. 

The compliance solution provides real-time, highly-cost effective, on demand services off the cloud which helps businesses to remain compliant with the latest regulations. Businesses can expect high returns without making any large investments. It encourages integration with a single and centralized management system. It generates prompt reports through the dashboards. With an active, robust and consistent compliance solution a business need not fear of faltering in the PCI compliance area and succumbing to unpredictable and sometimes debilitating results!

Know more about - compliance management software and threat management solutions here.

Assured and Safe Recovery with Healthcare Compliance Solutions

Driven by competition, business ethics has become a casualty... Most of these business practices are pursued with deceptive motives, and there is hardly any remorse for the impact that they have. .

Patients share their confidential information with their healthcare providers in the hope of receiving the best treatment and regaining their health. Unfortunately the healthcare organizations have proved incompetent to safeguard their patients’ personal health information from prying eyes, endangering the lives of many due to careless mistakes and unhealthy practices. Healthcare practices end up with unhealthy practices!

The compliance standards followed in many healthcare organizations rarely help them qualify the criteria for providing a secure and risk-free environment. Many have suffered financially due to expensive penalties and some have lost their reputed stature in society. Yet, lessons have not been learnt and felonies are still being committed. The innocent patients face severe consequences due to the careless and negligent attitude of these healthcare providers.

Now, it is time to end the reign of practices that are careless in handling the health care information with intense compliance metrics. To put an end to these careless activities, healthcare organizations require a compliance management system with stringent enforcements. The responsibility of the compliance system does not end with only compliance  but extends to assessing the situation and making advanced preparations for any anticipatory threats. The system should have the best tracking and monitoring capabilities.

The federal government’s insistence on HIPAA / HITECH compliance has made it mandatory for every healthcare organization to demonstrate a vigilant compliance outlook. The employment of the compliance management software ensures best practices for achieving compliance. The software provides for automated processes that takes care of all security related issues and institutes a thorough and effective management of governance, risk and compliance. It provides real-time relevant and updated information. It has a supportive reporting system that delivers timely analysis of the existing compliance status.

The compliance policies of the business are automatically updated and revised as per the desired norms and the software helps in integrating with several other compliance frameworks without any contradictions. This helps the healthcare organizations to remain in sync with the industry regulated compliance frameworks. The software focuses on maintaining a record of all activities for auditing purposes. Healthcare organizations can apparently make their vision of providing an ideally secure healthcare environment a reality for their patients. 

Know more about - governance risk and compliance and IT compliance.

Importance of IT security and compliance

IT security compliance is not just about security managers and CIOs deploying firewalls or anti-malware systems to protect their systems and information! It has to do with these and also managing the regulatory compliance requirements that governs IT security today. From the HIPAA act (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) to GLBA (Gramm-Leach Bliley Act) to Sarbanes-Oxley, IT security compliance has certainly become more complicated and enterprises are often left wondering on how to manage complete compliance yet also remain cost-effective. 

As per a Forrester research study conducted last year, “compliance” of all types has become the primary driver of data security programs.” Almost 90% of enterprises surveyed by Forrester researchers agreed that “compliance with PCI-DSS, data privacy laws, data breach regulations, and existing data security policies is the primary driver of their data security programs.”With billions being spent on governance, risk and compliance (GRC), this is an area that any enterprise can ill-afford to ignore. Enterprises are often on the lookout for a solution that can effectively provide an optimized security management infrastructure that will also be fully compliant as required. 

An integrated and holistic IT compliance and security solution that can help enhance compliance processes and practices is the best option for any IT enterprise wanting to stay compliant. Such a solution would necessarily be required to be economical, with best controls and augmented web-based applications to safeguard systems, data and processes efficiently. Areas such as access management, risk monitoring and audits are elements that such a solution should necessarily provide for. With the right kind of GRC solution backing up IT security policies, enterprises can easily identity software security susceptibilities and can address compliance issues relating to regulations and standards effectively. Such a solution can protect an enterprise’s precious corporate assets, intellectual property and can assist in ensuring complete defense against external or internal threats. Additionally such a solution can work wonders to prevent any kind of data loss. 

Most enterprises would want to ensure that their IT security and compliance issues are sorted in such a manner that there is no adverse impact on productivity and with significant savings along with enhanced security and flexibility. Having in place the right IT security compliance solution in place can be the first step for an enterprise, in bringing about complete compliance and also tightening the defense around its critical IT assets and remaining compliant as per all the IT security regulations. 

Know more about - compliance management software and threat management solutions

Working towards being HIPAA compliant

Everyone connected with the healthcare industry understands the significance of HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The act has several rules including the privacy rule that is used to ensure that health plans and healthcare providers keep the information of patients secure and protected. With the Office of Civil Rights being very strict about the enforcement of HIPAA, it is extremely crucial for all healthcare providers big or small to understand the importance of being HIPAA compliant. Formulated in 1996, HIPAA has undergone several amendments, but essentially pertains to the imposition of standardized security systems in place to safeguard sensitive patient information from unauthorized access. In short, the act pertains to the handling of healthcare records, information and all healthcare related transactions. Every healthcare provider needs to necessarily comply as per the security, privacy, and management guidelines laid out for all healthcare information.

Healthcare providers need to necessarily put in place security policies that ensures complete physical and network safety of patient information and restricts access of healthcare information to only the authorized personnel. HIPAA healthcare compliance is essential but it can also be quite a cumbersome ask for some healthcare providers. Therefore, such healthcare providers must seek solutions that can help

·         formulate appropriate procedures that can help realize their security policies,

·         install best security measures to adequately offer protection to sensitive data and information of patients,

·         set specific guidelines in place to ensure zero violation of HIPAA rules

·         prevent unauthorized access of information, and

·         set procedures in place to educate employees about the importance of HIPAA compliance. 

HIPAA compliance can be easily achieved provided health care providers opt for such solutions that can offer them best ways to continuously review compliance procedures and policies including review of servers and log audits along with development of compliance reports. With such solutions healthcare providers can easily set clearly defined policies with appropriate access controls. When such solutions can also assist in ably responding to security incidents, they can be of tremendous help to healthcare providers. Such a solution should necessarily account for an emergency or a contingency plan in place to tackle any security incident. The solution that a healthcare provider eventually opts for should also be well-equipped to offer ways to recover lost data.  

Working towards being HIPAA compliant can be made fairly easy provided health care providers become prudent about what they need in their HIPAA compliance solution. Opting for a solution that can help healthcare providers establish appropriate policies and implement proper compliance checks is definitely a step in the right direction. 

Know more about - compliance management software and governance, risk here.

Addressing the Issues Effectively with the Right IT Compliance

The internet is a paradise for all unsolicited and malicious entities causing unequivocal damage and loss without any considerations for the victims. Business corporations are always shrouded in an air of doubt and uncertainty as their critically sensitive data are incessantly surrounded by threats and risks. The IT systems that are deployed for providing protection and security to the environment are complex, unmanageable, incompatible and inconsistent, resulting very often in security infringements and the consequential adverse business impact.

The apathy prevailing in the present environment regarding inefficient management of the governance and risk factors has emerged as insufferable compliance issues debilitating the business. The negligent and callous attitude of the staff has helped the destructive brigade to gain easy entry into restricted and confidential data impounding the reputation and credibility of the organization. Many organizations have borne severe financial penalties due to unstructured security systems resulting in compliance violation.

IT Compliance has become a major concern and without a qualified management system in process the whole business can crumble and be ruined completely. To have a qualified compliance management system in place, businesses must ensure that every vulnerable gap is sealed and every activity is monitored closely to arrest any fraud or suspicious movements. The healthcare industry has fallen prey several times to these cowardly corrupt practices and undergone brutal penance.

HIPAA and HITECH regulations are the venerable commandments in the healthcare industry and any medical facility or provider found guilty of flouting the rules is subject to severe consequences. Thus it becomes extremely crucial to employ threat management solutions that have the tenacity to undergo extreme testing conditions to provide security to the business. These solutions should have intensively aggressive qualities to monitor and track every movement and restrict unauthorized entries with precision-based analysis. Automated solutions are an ideal option as all the processes are regularized and there is no opportunity for any fatal errors.

Flexibility is the most desired quality in IT compliance. An accommodating and persuasive temperament can foster integration and help the business to manage security effectively. High levels of visibility extends better control over the business processes so that the level of compliance maintained can be analyzed and measured, and this gives the business an opportunity to improve their standards and be at par. Automated compliance solutions have the ability to update existing business policies in line with the changes in the environment and staying compliant with the current compliance regulations. Businesses can gain immensely with stable, competent and cooperative solutions displaying extraordinary capabilities to track, forewarn and suggest remedies without elevating the costs.

Know more visit - HITECH compliance and healthcare compliance here.

A Compliance Strategy that secures your Business Operations

Risk is part of our lives and an inevitable force in business too. However, if precautionary measures are taken on time to tone it down, the results will be less intense and it will provide an incentive to have a well-stocked arsenal for any unexpected attacks. In a competitive business environment, a failed attempt to curb the risks promptly can wreak horrific terrors and reduce everything to ashes. A stringent enforcement through compliance regulations is the only way to a safe and successful business operation.  

Your business could be an easy target for insiders as well as outsiders. It is very easy for your employees to tamper with the business critical data or misuse it for personal gains as they are aware of the loopholes. Most often it has been found that major incidents take place due to insufficient authorization and authentication procedures. Employees are trusted blindly and given free access to areas containing sensitive data. Thus you need to employ compliance solutions that grant access only after thorough investigation and authentication of the user and their purpose.

Rivalry in business is a very good motive to perpetrate harmful practices through external influences such as release of viruses, infected applications and other sophisticated mediums. The third parties, vendors, suppliers and partners that you deal and collaborate with all come under the purview of suspicion. Hence it becomes extremely vital to instate robust technological barriers to vigorously screen any outsider requesting access to your confidential information systems. 

You need to employ the smart IT compliance management software that gives you prior notification of any looming dangers and suggests best solutions to avert these threats and deny their entry. It should have the capacity to monitor all suspicious activities round the clock without any interruptions in the process and provide you the most updated results promptly through an easy and quick manner. With a continuous monitoring cycle in place you will be provided with real-time information that is accurate.

To implant an efficient and effective IT compliance and security environment you need the assistance of an automated process that carries out end-to-end governance, risk and compliance functions in a simplified and transparent manner, so that you are aware of the level of compliance maintained in your business. This high visibility factor gives you the advantage to implement more tenacious measures to secure your business and seal every vulnerable gap without any delays. A flexible compliance management solution relieves you of the pressure of investing in costly applications and equipment as it has the ability to integrate with any application without any fuss.

Many businesses are still continuing to be a victim of corrupt practices and facing tremendous damages to their reputation as well as their revenue earning possibilities. Ideally the compliance management software with its assessment powers to raise alerts on the state of compliance can help you avoid costly errors operating without any fear of onslaught from any source.

To know more visit - vulnerability management here.

Importance of Governance Risk and Analysis

Enterprises have realized that governance and related issues of compliance and risk management cannot be ignored. Estimated to be a market of over $32billion, governance, risk and compliance management solutions offer ways and means to lessen the burden of the complications that arises, ensuring full compliance to administrative norms and regulations.

There are constantly evolving and ever changing compliance requirements and enterprises need to be aware of all the governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) management frameworks and approaches. From sustained monitoring and analysis of data to using technology to supporting compliance requirements, the GRC management refers quite simply to the assessment, mitigation of risk and ensuring complete compliance for the enterprise. The idea is to instill the controls and effective risk processes for the enterprise to empower them with a completely automated, yet continuous monitoring mechanism that can assist enterprises in identifying risks and responding to it before it can actually destabilize systems and applications.

Some enterprises engage risk auditors or consultants to get an overall view of their risks and also to ensure complete monitoring of their IT systems that supports crucial business processes. Some others employ automated solutions that can help proactively report, identify and alleviate risks and eliminate compliance violations from occurring. Without an effective GRC solution, an enterprise would be missing out on a crucial element of business strategy. An enterprise bereft of GRC solutions could very well be a breeding ground for serious structural, planning, developmental problems in their day-to-day functions and business processes.

Every enterprise must necessarily engage in comprehending their past compliance methods and then identify the correct measures required for optimized risk management. Once this is accomplished, the enterprise be in a position to correctly ascertain what risks need to be secured and what resources can be assigned to meet the same requirement. Addressing GRC issues has to be a critical element in the functioning of any enterprise with the right kind of GRC management solution, the best suited security policies, guidelines, procedures and standards for effective compliance.

Equipped with the right GRC management solution, enterprises can definitely be assured of keeping their focus on business growth and improved revenues by simplifying the response to industry regulations and understanding of risks and controls.

To know more visit - IT Compliance and healthcare compliance here.