Navigate your way to HIPAA compliance with Acronis

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, requires health care organizations to protect the privacy and security of a patient's protected health information (PHI). Find out how Acronis helps you meet these requirements.

How does HIPAA relate to cybersecurity?

HIPAA ensures the privacy and protection of patients’ PHI across the United States. This regulation not only helps individuals gain control of their information but also standardizes how health data is handled.

HIPAA cybersecurity pillars

Privacy and security rules

Administrative, physical and technical safeguards are required to protect electronic PHI. Patients have the right to access and control their information.

Breach notification

Entities must notify affected individuals, the Secretary of HHS and sometimes the media, following a breach of unsecured PHI.

Enforcement

The U.S. HHS will investigate and enforce compliance violations, including imposing civil monetary penalties.

Workforce training

Human error is a leading cause of breaches. HIPAA mandates regular workforce training on privacy, security, phishing, and handling PHI to reduce insider threats and accidental disclosures.

HIPAA fines and penalties

Noncompliance with HIPAA can result in heavy fines, regulatory investigations and legal action. Beyond the financial impact, it can damage a health care organization’s reputation and erode patient trust. Managed service providers (MSPs) may also face added pressure, as health care entities may look to them to ensure systems and patient data stay compliant.

Up to $71,000 per violation
Tier 1 – Tier 3
Up to $2.1 million per violation
Tier 4

Where do healthcare organizations often fall short meeting HIPAA requirements

Many organizations struggle to meet HIPAA requirements because of gaps in their security and operational practices, such as:

Failure to conduct risk analysis.
Weak access controls.
Inadequate technical safeguards.
Limited resources.
Lack of comprehensive employee training.

Where do healthcare organizations often fall short of meeting HIPAA requirements

How does Acronis help with HIPAA?

Acronis helps organizations meet core HIPAA requirements with natively integrated protection with compliance-enabling solutions.

Simplified data management

Protect patient data at all times with peace-of-mind encryption. Whether your data is stored locally or in the cloud, you can prevent unauthorized access and data breaches. Acronis helps your organization maintain data integrity and availability with features such as automated backups and one-click recovery.

HIPAA-compliant disaster recovery

Our solution includes secure data replication and failover features, empowering you to recover from disasters without ever compromising patient data.

Detailed auditing and reporting

With detailed logs and reports on data access, backup activities and security events, you can easily maintain a clear audit trail. These features provide the transparency and accountability needed to meet strict regulatory requirements.

Acronis Compliance Navigator

See the full mapping to discover how Acronis can help you meet HIPAA compliance

HIPAA resources

Looking for help?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is HIPAA?
HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a U.S. law that sets standards for protecting sensitive patient data. It applies to covered entities, which are health care providers, health plans and health care clearinghouses, as well as their business associates, which are organizations that perform services on behalf of covered entities and handle protected health information (PHI). HIPAA is composed of key rules, including the Privacy Rule, which sets national standards for the protection of PHI; the Security Rule, which establishes standards for protecting electronic PHI (ePHI); and the Breach Notification Rule, which requires reporting of breaches of unsecured PHI. These regulations are also applicable to IT providers, managed service providers (MSPs), and cloud vendors who handle PHI, as they are considered business associates under the law.
Why should you care about HIPAA?
You should care about HIPAA because it's a critical regulation with significant financial and legal ramifications. Violations can lead to severe penalties, with fines reaching up to $1.5 million per year for each category of violation. The law imposes strict rules on how electronic protected health information (ePHI) is stored, accessed and transmitted, meaning you must have robust security measures in place. This includes not just your internal operations but also any third-party vendors you work with.
Furthermore, MSPs and other vendors are held liable as business associates under HIPAA, so if a breach occurs because of a vendor's negligence, they can be directly fined. The health care industry is an increasingly attractive target for cybercriminals due to the sensitive and valuable nature of medical data. This growing attack surface — which includes everything from electronic health records to networked medical devices — makes compliance and strong cybersecurity practices more important than ever to protect both your business and your patients.
HIPAA is a federal law that establishes national standards to protect the privacy and security of a person's medical information. Compliance with this law is mandatory for certain entities that handle this sensitive data.
What is protected health information (PHI)?
PHI includes any information about an individual's health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care that can be linked to that specific person. This includes:
- Names, addresses and other contact information.
- Social Security numbers and medical record numbers.
- Health insurance information.
- Patient photographs.
- Dates related to the individual (e.g., birthdate, date of admission).
- Any past, present or future physical or mental health condition data.
Who must comply with HIPAA?
HIPAA compliance applies to two main groups:
- Covered entities: These are health care providers, health plans and health care clearinghouses. Examples include doctors, clinics, hospitals, dentists and health insurance companies.
- Business associates: These are third-party organizations that perform services for a covered entity that involve the use or disclosure of PHI. This can include billing companies, data storage providers and IT services.
If an organization or individual falls into either of these categories and handles PHI, they must comply with HIPAA's rules.

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