Companies in highly regulated industries, such as financial services and healthcare, must comply with numerous regulations related to privacy and sensitive data, including PCI DSS, SOX, GLBA, HIPAA and HITECH, along with others. These regulations have specific guidelines on handling personal information and sensitive data. Companies are bound to ensure that their information security policies and IT systems comply with these guidelines. Vintage IT Service’s Cloud can help organizations meet their regulatory standards while benefiting from the use of cloud applications. Below are a couple of industry regulations that encompass information related to cloud privacy and compliance standards:
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)
PCI Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) are technical and operational requirements set by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) to protect cardholder data. The Council is responsible for managing the security standards, while the payment card brands enforce compliance in the cloud. The standards apply to all organizations that store, process or transmit cardholder data.
HIPAA & HITECH (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act & Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act)
The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires healthcare organizations to maintain the confidentiality of electronic health information that can be linked to an individual patient. Penalties and criminal enforcement of the HIPAA Security Rules were increased by several provisions in The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in 2009. The HIPAA Security Rules require healthcare organizations to adopt the appropriate safeguards to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of patients’ protected health information.
While the above compliance standards do take some special consideration, companies around the world have begun to use the cloud in ways that satisfy these requirements. Vintage IT Services has an entire cloud team consisting of experts in designing a cloud solution that will comply with whatever regulations your company may be obligated to follow. If you are interested in seeing what solutions are available, please do not hesitate to reach out to us!