TechAdvisory.org

Technology Advice for Small Businesses

Are you in the right cloud?

HealthcareIT_June06_ANot all clouds are created equal, at least when it comes to encryption. Most cloud providers say they encrypt data, which engenders a sense of security—but there is a weakness in the process. Data —say, a medical record— is indeed encrypted when you send it to the cloud. But, when it arrives at the server to be stored, it’s decrypted.

The question then becomes not if your data is encrypted, but how well it is encrypted. Consider a picture sent from one place to another using an industry-standard 256-bit AES algorithm. Anyone with some expertise and a good computer can probably see enough of that picture to make out what it is. So, ideally, you want a cloud provider to offer multi-level encryption, better than a 256-bit AES algorithm.

Additionally, there should be administrative features in place that allow you or other IT staff to see when files have been viewed and edited, how, and by whom.

If you add client-side encryption to these features, you have a winning combination: the ability to store a safely encrypted document directly with a patient, leading to better engagement and thus, a potentially more profitable business.

Contact us today to learn more about our secure options and how they can help ensure your data is secure.