Recently, we've got an inquiry about how S/Notify Email Encryption for Jira and Confluence could help with HIPAA compliance. This was an interesting question, and I'd like to share our findings with you.
...
For those who want the long answer, let's first clarify a few things about HIPAA.
What is HIPAA?
HIPAA stand for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It was enacted in 1996 to set the standard for sensitive patient data protection in the USA. Companies that deal with protected health information (PHI) must have physical, network, and process security measures in place and follow them to ensure HIPAA Compliance. Covered entities (anyone providing treatment, payment, and operations in healthcare) and business associates (anyone who has access to patient information and provides support in treatment, payment, or operations) must meet HIPAA Compliance. Other entities, such as subcontractors and any other related business associates must also be in compliance.
...
Encryption is an important element of HIPAA compliance for email. The method of encryption is not specified in HIPAA, but HIPAA-covered entities can obtain up to date guidance on encryption from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which currently recommends the use of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128, 192 or 256-bit encryption in its latest publication SP 800-45 Version 2 (see References). The following is quoted from this publication:
S/MIME
.svg.png?version=1&modificationDate=1541782128426&cacheVersion=1&api=v2&width=300)
The most significant feature of S/MIME is its built-in and nearly “automatic” nature. Because of heavy industry involvement from manufacturers, S/MIME functionality exists with default installations of common mail clients such as Mozilla and Outlook Express.
...
Email encryption is considered an appropriate solution to to cover Transmission Security, and, within this area, is able to cover both, Integrity Controls and Encryption. As a consequence, if you use Jira (including Jira Service Desk) and Confluence to manage any protected health information (PHI), S/Notify is perfect to get you covered with regard to the transmission security of email notifications. S/Notify currently supports S/MIME encryption with AES-256, as recommended by NIST for highest security.
| Tip | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
Want To Learn More Every Now And Then?Want to be kept updated with tipps and tricks regarding S/Notify and email encryption in general? Just let us know, and we'll love to add you to our list. Thank you! |
...