Best Practices For Hipaa Compliant File Transfer Protocols

Are you looking for the transfer of sensitive health data?

Here is the complete guide for you!

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is the strict standard to safeguard the electronic protected health information (ePHI) during its transfer. FTPS, SFTP and HTTPS are among the most secure options and all of them offers authentication, encryption and logging to meet the standards of HIPAA.

The selection of right protocol is dependent on the needs of the customer. The HTTPS is used for user-facing tools, SecureFTP site for the back-end automation and FTPS is for the legacy systems. It is always mandatory to ensure detailed logging, strong encryption and appropriate authentication to balance the compliance.

1. SFTP

Secure FTP site encrypts the data and commands by utilizing the SSH. This is best for the automated transfers carrying single port simplicity and strengthened key enabled authentication. Not like the other FTP protocols that unprotect the data, the SFTP encrypts whole session and makes it reliable option to transfer the ePHI securely.

·         Encryption strength – SFTP leverages the SSH for encryption by utilizing AES-128 or AES-256 for protection of data confidentiality along with HMAC-SHA2 to ensure data integrity. Whereas, HIPAA industry recommends AES-256 for protection of data both at rest and in-transit.

·         Authentication options – HIPAAcompliant FTP recommends key enabled authentication utilizing SSH public keys. HIPAA focused Secure FTP site provide features like IP allow-listing, role based access control and directory service integration for meeting access control requirements.

2. FTPS

The HIPAA compliant FTPS are built on the conventional FTP protocol by addition of SSL encryption, changing the insecure FTP in the safest option to transmit ePHI.

·         Encryption strength – the FTP hosting services utilize similar TLS mechanism as HTTPS and allows the administrators to implement stringent certificate validation procedures including check of certificate validity dates, verifying CN/SAN fields and confirming the revocation status using CRL or OCSP.

·         Authentication options – the FTP hosting services supports different authentication ways including TLS client certificates, password or username combos, and incorporation with directory services such as LDAP or Active Directory. Best practices for HIPAA compliant standards include the implementation of MFA for the remote or privileged access and using certificate based service accounts to mediate the credential theft risks.

3. HTTPS

It secures the web traffic standard by utilizing the encrypted tunnel which makes it the preferred protocol for the clinician dashboards, patient portals and app to app exchange that carries ePHI. It is compatible with all mobile apps and browsers and allows secure exchange without any additional tool.

·         Encryption strength – the HTTPS relies on the TLS for data protection while traveling. The companies must implement TLS 1.2 or 1.3 and disable the outdated protocols such as SSL, TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1. The server configuration must enable strong cipher suites including AES-128 or AES-256 with GCM mode and utilize the curve key exchange along with disabling the weak ciphers.

·         Authentication options – the HTTPS carries multi-layered authentication for securing access to ePHI. For implementation, healthcare systems need user password combos with enforced complexity along with multi-factor authentication to minimize the credential theft risk.

TOP BENEFITS OF HIPAA COMPLIANT SECURE FILE SHARING

The healthcare professionals deal with the plethora of digital paperwork daily including prescriptions, lab reports, medical records, referrals and many other documents that contain sensitive information which needs to be protected under HIPAA.

The HIPAA compliant secure file transfer service is the digital platform that has been designed to send and receive the files securely using ePHI while meeting all physical, technical and administrative safeguards outlined in HIPAA Security Rule. Every firm must comply with it if they are handling any of the following things:

ü  Sharing medical referrals among providers

ü  Sending lab or radiology results and reports

ü  Delivering records of patients to insurance firms

ü  Collaborating remotely with other researchers or clinicians

ü  Exchanging files with EHR software vendors

Whether it is a small hospital, clinic or any business associate, HIPAA is the pre-requisite to comply with.

What makes a File sharing solution HIPAA compliant?

There are plenty of sftp or ftp hostingservices but most of them are not compliant with HIPAA. Thus, the businesses shouldn’t fall into the trap to use the software for personal file sharing. Rather, they must look out for the HIPAA compliant file transfer solutions that have following features:

ü  Audit logging

ü  Integrated HIPAA compliant cloud storage for the files of patient

ü  Access controls to limit who can access the files

ü  Encryption to protect the data of patient at rest and in transit

Benefits of using HIPAA compliant file sharing solution

Although it is beneficial to use the in-house HIPAA compliant file sharing solution but selecting the external service may save resources, time and cost of development or maintenance. Along with such benefits, the right HIPAA compliant secure file transfer must have following benefits:

ü  Remote accessibility – the inclusion of cloud storage for the files of patient allows you to quickly access the data anytime and anywhere. This is crucial for the firms with multiple sites or the ones who opted for the remote work.

ü  Scalability – the correct secure sftp hosting service allows you to scale the workflow across the teams and manage the access of files and folders specifically.

ü  Cost-effectiveness – this is more affordable to utilize the external file sharing solution instead of developing or building the in-house HIPAA compliant secure file transfer. The external transfer helps in saving the money along with compliance at all times.

ü  Improved collaboration – the lab technicians, clinicians and the strategic partners will better collaborate when software is used to share the files securely. Without any proper HIPAA compliant file sharing solution, everyone can quickly access the information.

ü  Better recover to disaster – the cloud storage feature is the big value addition here. You can easily back up the patient record to the cloud that makes it easy to recover any lost data from the broker hard drive or corrupted device.

ü  Multi-device accessibility – the HIPAA compliant file transfer solution makes sure that you can easily access the right data across multiple devices. You can view the files in the desktop in office, share directly from the mobile app while you are on the go.

An Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To File Transfer Protocol

 The FTP or the File Transfer Protocol is among the most widely used way to transfer the files. Though this term is technical but the concept is quite simple and is needed for many online processes. This guide is going to help you about the FTP, how this works and what are its benefits.

What is FTP?

The FTP is the standard network protocol that is utilized to transfer files from one host to the other through the TCP based network (internet). In a simple manner, the dedicated FTP hosting assists the users in downloading, uploading and managing the files on the server, thereby enabling the file access and sharing. FTP makes the transfer efficient and easy whether this is the website developer transferring file or the company sharing large data files among the offices.

Types of FTP

With time, various FTPs have been developed with the changing needs, particularly the security issues. The most widely used FTPs include:

·       Password Protected FTP

In this secureFTP sites hosting, the server asks the users to authenticate their self with the password and username. This process of authentication assists in prevention of any unknown access to the sensitive files on server. Though, this doesn’t encrypt the transmitted data, but the protection through password ensures that only the authorized person can access the server.

·       Anonymous FTP

This FTP allows the users to access the files without requiring any password or username. This is usually used to distribute the public content such as large dataset or open source software. The server permission is usually limited to the prevention of users from modifying or uploading data to the downloading of files. However, this is secure FTP sites for business. 

·       FTPs (FTP Secure or FTP SSL)

This secure yet affordable FTP sites hosting provides added encryption to the conventional FTP by utilizing the TLS/SSL encryption protocol. It ensures that the data transferred among the server and client is encrypted, and provides additional security. The FTPs is usually used in the environments in which the data compliance and security is needed such as government institutes.

Benefits of Using FTP

The FTP offers numerous benefits that assist in constant use, even with availability of new protocols. Some key benefits include:

·       Efficient file transfer – FTP is optimized for transferring multiple files or large files at once. It assists the users to resume the interrupted transfers, thereby ensures that the files are completely delivered if their connection is lost in the process.

·       Ease of use – this is highly easy to use particularly for the beginners. Various FTP users have user friendly interface and this allows the users to drag or drop the files for the transfer without any need to understand the technical details behind process.

·       Cross platform compatibility – this works across different operating systems including Linux, macOS and Windows. This makes the FTP a versatile tool to transfer the files among different systems.

·       Scalability – the secure FTP sites for business are scalable and can easily handle the file transfer needs for both the large enterprises and the small businesses. It can easily manage the larger data transfers or simple file uploads without any difficulty.

Automated processes – different FTP customers support automation and scripting, enabling the businesses to back up without any manual intervention or regular file transfers. This is highly beneficial for the routine data backup.

Top 7 Essential Tips To Achieve Truly Secure FTP

 

Although plain FTP or File Transfer Protocol has been the solution of choice to transfer data for several decades, it has left many businesses at stake for the breaching of data. If you want to ensure that your servers are both compliant and secure, this post is going to help you by giving top 7 tips to ensure the secure File Transfer Protocol Hosting for business.

1.      Use Strong Hashing And Encryption

The encryption cyphers are being utilized by the secure FTP hosting sites for the protection of data while it has been transferred. This cypher is the complicated algorithm that carries data and its key and creates encrypted data for the transmission. The most important thing you must do is the disabling of the outdated or older ciphers and only utilize the strong ciphers such as TDES or AES.

2.      Disable Standard FTP

If you are running the standard FTP on your server, it needs immediate disabling. The FTP is nearly 3 decades old and this is why, it can’t withstand the modern security threats. The FTP is lacking integrity and privacy and this is making it easy for hackers to get the access to the data during transmission. Thus it is recommended to switch to secure and affordable FTP hosting services which ensures data protection.

3.      Implement the IP Whitelist and Blacklist

The IP whitelist only allows the particular IP addresses to access system like your trading partners. The drawback here is that it only works well if the partner is also using fixed IPs. The IP blacklist includes the elimination of wide IP addresses from system access either permanently or temporarily. Such as, if you wish to block some countries from accessing, you can have auto-blacklisting of FTP server for certain attack types such as DoS attacks.

4.      Utilize Strong Passwords

The passwords must be at least 7 characters in length, having both alphanumeric and numeric characters and it also carries one special character. Always ensure that the admin passwords are changed after every 90 days.

5.      Lock Down Administration

You must ensure the tight control of your affordable FTP server administration. The admin duties must be restricted to the particular user’s number and needs them to utilize multi-factor authentication. Rather than storing passwords on server, keep them safe in the LDAP server or in the AD domain.

6.      Implement File And Folder Security

The trading partner must only have the access to their required folder. Such as, only because the partner requires permission for download from a folder, it doesn’t mean that they require full access to the folder. The requirement of uploading files to the folder doesn’t necessitate the access of read to folder. Encrypt the files when at rest and retain the FTP customized file sharing server only as long as it is required.

7.      Use Good Account Management

It is very doubtful to make up the OS-level user accounts for trading partners as it enables the pathway for earning the access to other server resources. Moreover, the credentials of the user must also be kept privately from FTP application. There is no need to allow the shared accounts of anonymous users.

 

 

 

 

FTP vs SFTP: An Ultimate Guide for Secure Transfers

The transfer of files between customers, partners and systems in an efficient yet secure way is beyond technical necessity; rather it is a business compulsion. Companies whether they are SMEs or larger in size, typically relies on the file transfer protocols to transfer or move the data, and the choice among the protocols highly impact the operational efficiency, compliance and security.

Two most notable file transfer protocols are FTP - File Transfer Protocol and SFTP – Secure File Transfer Protocol. Though they sound similar and also have comparable purpose but there is a huge difference among them, particularly when it is about their compliance and security requirements.

What is FTP?

FTP is among the most traditional technologies needed for transfer of files over internet. Whether it is intended for use by a beginner or a professional, understanding the FTP is most critical. This protocol has been a key player in file sharing infrastructure within the businesses as well as for personal use. Usually, FTP is carried out through client – the application which generates connection – and the server – the software which facilitates the remote destination transfer. Once a connection is established among client and FTP server, data can be transferred among the two systems. Affordable FTP hosting helps in transfer of files and it connects to the destination remotely for the renaming, modification and deletion of files and directories. In standard form, FTP transmits data in plain text, including passwords, usernames and actual file manner. It means that if further security measures are not taken, these files can easily be intercepted and read by the malicious actors.

What is SFTP?

Though FTP is highly powerful but it is also vulnerable and can be risky for the businesses. In result, another secure form of FTP has been developed named SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) hosting services that have similar features but it offers additional protections. SFTP utilizes SSH (Secure Shell) protocol that needs authenticity. Conventionally, this authentication is carried out using password and username combination or by making the use of keys. With the SSH, client establishes the contact with server, which in turn sends back the encryption key. Then, one secure channel is opened among the two and then the data can easily be transferred. As the encryption key is used, if the data gets intercepted, it will not be readable. SSH usually utilizes Blowfish or AES encryption and needs some authentication method before transferring the data.

Key differences between FTP and SFTP:

There is significant difference among the two and it primarily lies around protocol design, connection handling and security. Primarily, FTP operates directly over the TCP or IP whereas, the Secure FTP hosting services operates as the subsystem of SSH protocol and it leverages the security features.

Considering security, FTP transmits data in plain context including file content and credentials, which puts it at risk of interception whereas SFTP encrypts all the traffic including the file data and authentication credentials which provides strong protection against the breaches of data.

The model of connection is also different as FTP utilize separate data and control channels which require complicated firewall configurations and multiple ports, whereas, SFTP streamlines the strategy by utilizing single encrypted channel for both data and commands which enhances the security and simplifies the network configuration.

Another major difference lies in authentication mechanism. Affordable FTPhosting relies on the plain text of username and password authentication while SFTP supports various authentication methods including public key authentication, passwords and multifactor options, offering robust security options.

Thus, if you want to keep your data secure, SFTP is the right answer but if you want to transfer files speedily, then SFTP might be slower due to security built within the protocol. One other limitation of the SFTP is that it highly relies upon SSH which needs authentication. Thus, if user wants to utilize secure FTP hosting services anonymously, FTP is the way to go.