As healthcare becomes more of a target for cyber threats with each passing year, HIPAA compliance is more crucial than ever. While there’s plenty of network security hardware to help with this, there are still a lot of gaps involved in manual security efforts.
Between human error and a lack of much-needed oversight, there’s a need for better compliance for the sake of healthcare regulations and secure patient data. This is where a focus on HIPAA compliance automation comes in.
In today’s world, there’s a lot of talk focused on automation and the benefits it can provide. This article focuses on HIPAA compliance and the role that automation plays in making it consistent across the healthcare industry.
Why Next-Gen Firewalls Are Integral to HIPAA Compliant IT Solutions
There’s no argument that healthcare data security solutions come with a layered approach. However, at the helm of this discussion, next-generation firewall (NGFW) tech is leading the way. This is for many reasons, and it includes plenty of important features and capabilities outside of automation alone.
A few standout examples include:
- Secures Protected Health Information (PHI) by controlling network access at device, user, and application levels
- Policies can be consistently enforced through application control
- Intrusion prevention systems (IPS) detect and block suspicious activity before lateral movement becomes a problem for critical systems
- Encrypted traffic inspection helps with monitoring SSL/TLS data to keep an eye on threats without affecting network performance
The list goes on from there, and modern healthcare security systems need this next-gen tech to stay compliant. Not because traditional methods made HIPAA compliance impossible, but any kind of gap in security can lead to significant trouble for everyone involved. To help fill those gaps, many healthcare systems are turning to automation for help with compliance and more consistent security solutions.
Benefits of Automation for HIPAA Firewall Compliance
In the scope of automation, it’s about consistency and reliability for the long term. This can be integrated into existing healthcare security architecture in several ways. From firewall hardware-specific feature sets to managed HIPAA compliant IT services, there’s more than one way to get it done.
- Managed services offer 24/7 real-time threat intelligence to block new vulnerabilities
- Firewall hardware can offer continuous automatic updates to help IT teams stay equipped to handle emerging threats
- Policy enforcement can be automated to reduce human error and prevent the potential for misconfigurations
- Automation can help to free IT staff from the manual workload and provide more time for strategic initiatives rather than manual maintenance
There are many angles to this, and if you know anything about automation, then you know it comes with some impressive feats. As great as this sounds, integration comes with several considerations that are required for long-term results.
Buyer’s Overview for the Best HIPAA Compliance Software and Hardware Solutions
Regardless of the software or hardware solutions you choose, making the most of automation requires a multifaceted approach. From selecting network security tools with the right features to scalability and backend support from managed services, it’s quite a bit to think about.
Advanced Security Features
In the scope of automation and next-gen firewalls, advanced security features include IPS, auto-updating signatures, SSL/TLS deep packet inspection, and more. Segmentation capabilities are also important, as this isolates PHI databases from public-facing networks. Granular security for healthcare networks is made possible through NGFW identity and app-based controls.
Compliance Monitoring and Reporting
You can make use of automated log archiving, which helps to ensure HIPAA-required retention periods are met. Aside from that, real-time dashboards support audit-ready visibility into network security and its configurations. Automated monitoring helps with identifying compliance gaps, and the use of role-based authorization limits changes to crucial firewall settings.
Automation Capabilities
This may only be one layer to many NGFWs, but it’s one of their biggest selling points here. Utilizing automated configuration backups gives the benefit of quick rollbacks during potential failures or misconfigurations. Firewall rules can link with efficiency through policy automation, and integration reduces the need for manual workload and improves PHI protection.
Scalability and Redundancy
A lot of NGFW hardware is modular, meaning you get the flexibility you need for long-term growth in traffic capacity and bandwidth. In addition to that, redundancy ensures minimal downtime, another important component of HIPAA uptime demands. Overall, automation is an excellent, scalable solution that helps healthcare organizations evolve without facing performance loss or gaps in security.
Let’s Wrap Up
The healthcare industry has plenty of traditional strategies with network security, but this isn’t going to be suitable forever. From HIPAA compliance to facing modern cybersecurity threats, it’s going to require a new-age approach, much of which can be supported with automation.
Once again, this is a layered conversation that goes beyond just firewall hardware alone. If you’re looking to get your network security architecture up to par with the help of automation, speak with our team for the right answers to your situation.
FAQ
What is HIPAA Compliance Automation?
This focuses on using software or hardware network security tools to make sure policies are enforced consistently. Other important angles include actively monitored networks with the scope of unwavering protection for patient data.
Why are Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) Important for HIPAA Compliance?
They’re important due to their ability to control network access on multiple levels, from device to user and applications. The tech is able to do so with features like intrusion prevention, encrypted traffic inspection, and more.
How Does Automation Reduce Human Error in Healthcare Network Security?
From more than one angle, automation reduces human error through streamlined policy enforcement, real-time threat updates, and proactive threat response measures. This not only ensures patient data protection, but also minimizes the manual workload and oversight of traditional network security strategies.
What Features Should Healthcare Organizations Look For In HIPAA-Compliant Firewalls?
You would want to look for features like IPS with auto-updating signatures, SSL/TLS deep packet inspection, and network segmentation. Other important aspects to look for include real-time dashboards and role-based access controls.
Can Managed Services Help With HIPAA Compliance?
In their own way, managed services can feel like their own form of automation, as it takes the stress off the organization. Managed services can promise 24/7 monitoring, automatic updates, and the thorough expertise of the cybersecurity landscape. This guarantees consistent security, compliance, and real-time action against potential threats before they become a problem.
