Paging Dr. HIPAA
Ask anyone who’s ever gone to medical school—they’ll tell you the ability to understand medical textbooks feels like a superpower. The same can be said about navigating Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance. At this point, performing surgery on a patient might seem easier than deciphering its regulation and compliance mandates. But the good news is, with tools like Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), you can simplify compliance without harnessing any superpowers—or grabbing a scalpel.
What Is SIEM?
In simplest terms, SIEM is a cybersecurity solution that centralizes data from various sources—endpoints, firewalls, Syslogs, and even SaaS apps—and analyzes it for potential threats.
Performing Surgery on HIPAA Compliance
Often, the most complex problems can be broken down into simpler components, and HIPAA is no exception. HIPAA might feel like a tangled mess, but when you strip it down, it’s just about protecting patients’ data and maintaining trust. Tools like SIEM make that easier by automating key security tasks, reducing guesswork, and keeping you ahead of compliance mandates by managing the following:
- Data Protection and Privacy
- Real-Time Monitoring and Incident Response
- Audit Trails and Reporting
Protecting Data and Privacy
It can’t be overstated that HIPAA really has just one goal: to keep Protected Health Information (PHI) safe. PHI includes everything from patient medical records to billing details. It’s essentially the sensitive data that could identify a patient. If this data falls into the wrong hands, like that of a malicious hacker, the consequences could be dire, leading to identity theft, blackmail of private medical conditions, or even exposure of pre-existing conditions to healthcare insurance providers.
This is where SIEM becomes a critical component for your healthcare organization. It can log and analyze security events in real-time, detecting unusual activity that could signal data compromise. By tracking potential leaks or exposure of PHI, SIEM prevents unauthorized access by outside threat actors.
Monitoring and Incident Response
Modern healthcare systems are a web of endpoints, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and sprawling networks. This interconnectedness also creates countless potential entryways for relentless threat actors.
Because of this, HIPAA’s requirements have increased to mandate detection and response against potential incidents and breaches. The most common requirements revolve around centralized data collection, around-the-clock monitoring, and daily log reviews. A SIEM—especially one managed and backed by security experts—can easily tackle these requirements. It quickly gathers data from agents, Syslogs, and APIs, stores the data offsite, detects possible threats, and notifies security teams of possible exposures. Hospitals and clinics never sleep. And neither do cybercriminals. So, no matter if it’s 3pm or 3am, SIEM has you covered.
Accessing Audit-Ready Logs and Reports
The worst time to find out your logs have been wiped out is during a breach. The second worst time is during an actual audit. That’s because HIPAA compliance demands thorough, audit-ready logs and reports. HIPAA regulations typically require log retention and accessibility for up to seven years, meaning your system needs to store and retrieve years of data seamlessly.
SIEM simplifies this need by consolidating logs from disparate data sources, storing them securely, and offering easy searchability. When auditors come calling, SIEM ensures you’ve got everything you need, right where you need it.
Simpler Than a Medical Degree
You don’t have to spend years poring over medical textbooks to understand how to maintain HIPAA compliance. It’s quite easy. From securing PHI to streamlining incident response and reporting, cybersecurity solutions such as Huntress Managed SIEM can help you achieve compliance and better protect your healthcare organization.
To better understand HIPAA controls and how Huntress can assist, read our Managed SIEM-HIPAA Compliance Framework Checklist.