“Technology trust is a good thing, but control is a better one.”

Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, global concern for data security and privacy has skyrocketed like a dazzling display of fireworks on New Year’s Eve. With an ever-increasing number of people utilizing online services and sharing their personal information on websites to engage in e-commerce transactions, the infrastructure for collecting and safeguarding consumer data has become of paramount importance.

As the world has evolved in significant ways over the past several decades, so have the threats that businesses face daily evolved. In particular, cybercrime has grown into a nefarious force that harms businesses and causes irreparable damage. From holding information ransom to stealing private financial information, there is no limit to the damage that cybercriminals can inflict upon your operations.

Cybersecurity has become a top priority for organizations across all industries and sizes. To safeguard their sensitive data and assets from the ever-evolving threats of cyberattacks and data breaches, businesses must take a proactive approach. Adherence to industry-specific cybersecurity regulations and frameworks is a critical component in building a robust and comprehensive cybersecurity program.

The Advancement in technology and online payment transaction has offered an immense amount of convenience to both consumers and businesses. The ease and widespread acceptance of online payment including the credit/debit card transaction has streamlined business processes and payment transactions greatly.

HIPAA is a legal healthcare privacy standard passed into law by the Clinton administration. The law standardized how private healthcare information had to be protected and stored by hospitals. In its earliest years of inception, these rules were straightforward. Things have changed considerably. With the digitalization of healthcare records, it’s now easier than ever for patients and hospitals to access records, but it’s also easier for bad actors.

California Consumer Privacy Act is a data privacy regulation introduced to protect the privacy of personal data and uphold the rights of consumers. So, it is an obligation for organizations to achieve and maintain CCPA Compliance if they are dealing with the personal data of citizens of California. However, now CCPA will soon be replaced with the latest version which is known as the California Privacy Right Act (CPRA).

Earlier, even prior to the digitalization of healthcare records, it was still easier to keep the information secure and private. Records were in the physical form and could be protected in many ways. Now that people can pull up their entire health histories with the press of a few buttons, things are very different. With the information now being stored and processed online, the threat and risk exposures are equally high. So, to address such threats the U.S.

HIPAA Security Rules and Privacy Rules were established to secure the Protected Health Information (PHI) data of patients that healthcare organizations collect, process, and/or transmit. The regulation has identified 18 HIPAA Identifiers that are considered as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) which is a part of the PHI data.

Over the past several decades, cybercrime has evolved to be more comprehensive, threatening, and damaging. There is an emerging trend of cybercriminals attacking all sorts of individuals and organizations in the industry. The healthcare industry has been a soft target for many years and healthcare data is a prime target for cybercriminals intent on stealing data.