Category "Compliance"

The United States Department of Health and Human Services enforces HIPAA laws to protect the private health information of Americans. When organizations don’t follow their strict regulations they may face harsh penalties for noncompliance. That’s why it is important to understand which organizations are legally required to follow HIPAA and have HIPAA compliant hosting.

People and organizations that submit their patient’s protected health information (PHI) in electronic form are considered Covered Entitities that must follow HIPAA security rules. Healthcare providers that work in clinics, hospitals and regional health organizations are Covered Entities. The law also applies to individual medical practitioners who use electronic forms for their patients.

Health plans are also legally bound to use HIPAA compliant hosting. Covered Entities include Health Maintenance Organizations (or HMOs), Medicaid, and Medicare plans that cover prescription drugs. Healthcare clearinghouses, public health authorities, flexible spending accounts and third-party administrators also make the list. The government considers companies that offers health insurance to its employees Covered Entities. Universities that gather, store or transmit electronic protected health information when they enroll students in health plans must also use hosting that is compliant with the government’s HIPAA guidelines.

Please contact us today to learn more about our technical services. At WHOA.com, we offer HIPAA compliant hosting solutions for people and organizations in the healthcare industry. It’s very important to transmit private patient medical records in a secure HIPAA compliant environment. We understand how to process electronic healthcare transactions for healthcare software providers, healthcare providers and other healthcare personnel.

The primary purpose of information technology networking and associated protocols is to deliver services such as email, Internet access, and business information system access with high availability and highly responsive performance and zero down-time. Accomplishing this lofty feat requires IT managed services visibility into the health status of every device connected to the network. SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) monitors and report the health of networked devices over TCP/IP via both polling mechanisms (SNMP Get) and connection-less notifications (SNMP Traps), and is built-in to most operating systems by default.

SNMP Details

There are three primary versions of SNMP. All three SNMP versions use a hierarchical structure called a MIB (Management Information Base) to manage collections of health status objects that require monitoring. The SNMP protocol also includes a set of default MIBs for monitoring TCP/IP and other items common to all devices that use SNMP. Each device can also support MIBs that specify monitoring of health status items specific to that device and the device specific feature set outside the scope of the default MIBs included with SNMP (such as monitoring the health of a custom web application service).

SNMP version 1 specifies an architecture that includes a Network Management Station (NMS) that runs software configured to poll SNMP devices for health status updates and receive SNMP “trap” messages when major changes in health status occurs. Version 1 also specifies a management agent which runs on each monitored device and answers SNMP polling requests sent from a network management station, monitors and updates device status, and sends traps to the network management station when specific device health measurement parameters, such as temperature or fan speed, are outside of the acceptable range. SNMP version 1 also specifies a security mechanism in which each device participating in SNMP on the network must present a “community string” (which is a type of clear text shared password) to poll or send messages. The more widely used SNMP version 2 and SNMP version 3 improve the protocol’s security mechanism, as discussed in the next post.

For more information on how IT managed services and system monitoring can improve your organization’s network up-time, contact us today.

 

In this day and age, it is more important than ever that your information and assets are kept safe. With the always imminent threat of cyber attacks and other forms of internet crime, it is vital that you go with a hosting solution that protects you and your business. WHOA.com has many cloud computing solutions that are built for the needs of a cyber crime world. One of the ways that we provide you with greater security is through HIPAA compliant hosting. So what exactly is HIPAA compliant hosting? Let’s take a look.

HIPAA Compliant Hosting

Our HIPAA compliant hosting provides you with ISO 27001 certification which is vital to keep your sensitive data secure. Not only does this certification provide you with the compliance required by major card brands, it also brings to you state-of-the-art technology for secure cloud computing and stringent security measures for your peace of mind and the safety of your company. All in all, we are helping build for you a more secure and profitable future.

WHOA.com is a secure cloud computing solutions provider with top-of-the-line services to meet stringent industry requirements that ultimately keeps you secure, saves you time and ensures that you are staying in compliance. If you have any questions about HIPAA compliant hosting or if you would like to know more about any of the other services that we offer, please contact us today. We look forward to working with you and providing for you a safer, more secure alternative to your business’s cloud hosting.

PCI compliance is designed to protect both your business and your customers. It ensures that vital credit and debit card data is kept safe and that customers who are shopping in your store or are using your website can do so without needing to worry that their card information might be stolen. In spite of that, you might find yourself wondering, “Why is PCI compliance important?” Does it really matter for your business? If you’ve been on the fence about PCI compliance or you’ve been doing the bare minimum to get by, check out these reasons why it’s critical that your business be PCI compliant.

PCI Compliance Increases Consumer Confidence

In the last few years, a number of big businesses have been targeted by hackers who were out to steal credit card data. These highly public breaches have ensured that most consumers have a pretty good idea of what can happen if their information isn’t protected, and they’re relying on your business to make sure that they’re not in any danger. PCI compliance gives consumers the confidence that they can trust your business–and since your competitors are compliant, that could be the difference between customers who come to you and customers who walk away.

PCI Compliance Protects Your Business

Data breaches are costly for any business. The smaller your business is, the less you can afford the risk. PCI compliance secures your data and protects your business from those potential consequences. Don’t assume that because you’re a small business owner, you aren’t at risk! More recently, hackers have begun targeting small businesses simply because they are less likely to have extensive security in place. Keep in mind that if you hold on to card data and experience a data breach, you may end up paying costly fines that your business can ill afford.

PCI compliance is critical both for your business and for your customers. It protects both of you. If you’re ready to make your business PCI compliant, contact us today to learn how we can help.