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Healthcare

Strengthening Data Security and Compliance for a Healthcare Organization

Monitoring real-time threat alerts and network activity to safeguard patient data.

Focus Areas

Data Security

HIPAA & Regulatory Compliance

Cloud Governance

Visualization of encrypted cloud storage protecting sensitive healthcare records.

Business Problem

A regional healthcare organization was facing increasing risks related to data breaches, non-compliance with HIPAA, and fragmented security protocols across its systems. With the growing volume of sensitive patient data being generated and stored across cloud and on-premise platforms, leadership needed to modernize their security infrastructure and compliance processes to safeguard data integrity, ensure regulatory alignment, and mitigate reputational risk.

Key challenges:

  • Disjointed Security Controls: Legacy systems lacked centralized oversight, with inconsistent access policies and encryption standards.

  • Regulatory Exposure: Manual audit processes made it difficult to track and demonstrate HIPAA and HITECH compliance in real time.

  • Cloud Governance Gaps: Rapid cloud adoption had outpaced the implementation of secure configurations and monitoring protocols.

  • Insufficient Incident Response: The organization lacked a robust framework for detecting, responding to, and recovering from security incidents.

The Approach

Curate partnered with the healthcare provider to assess its current security landscape, implement a modern data protection framework, and establish an end-to-end compliance strategy. This included hardening access controls, enabling continuous monitoring, automating compliance audits, and embedding security-by-design practices across systems and teams.

Key components of the solution:

  • Discovery and Requirements Gathering: Collaborating with IT, compliance officers, legal, and clinical leadership, Curate conducted a security maturity assessment and identified key requirements:

    • Centralize identity and access management (IAM)

    • Encrypt sensitive data at rest and in transit

    • Automate compliance reporting and policy enforcement

    • Implement proactive threat detection and incident response protocols

  • Security & Compliance Solution Implementation:

    • Data Classification & Mapping: Identified and categorized sensitive health and financial data across systems.

    • IAM Modernization: Deployed role-based access controls (RBAC) with multi-factor authentication using Azure AD.

    • Encryption Standards: Applied AES-256 encryption for data at rest and TLS 1.2+ for all data in transit.

    • Compliance Automation: Integrated tools like LogicGate and Qualys to monitor adherence to HIPAA, HITECH, and NIST 800-53.

    • Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM): Implemented policies and alerts for misconfigurations using Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AWS Security Hub.

    • SIEM Integration: Integrated Splunk for real-time threat detection and incident logging across infrastructure.

    • Incident Response Playbooks: Established automated response workflows and simulations for breach preparedness.

  • Process Optimization and Governance Enablement:

    • Policy Standardization: Created unified data protection policies for all departments and platforms.

    • Real-Time Monitoring: Established a security operations center (SOC) with 24/7 visibility into critical systems.

    • Continuous Audits: Enabled real-time audit readiness and auto-generated reports for compliance reviews.

    • Risk Scoring: Built dashboards to assess data exposure and prioritize remediation efforts.

  • Stakeholder Engagement & Change Management:

    • Cross-Functional Buy-In: Engaged legal, compliance, IT, and operations leaders to align on risk and regulatory priorities.

    • Training Programs: Conducted regular security awareness workshops and phishing simulations for staff.

    • Documentation & SOPs: Delivered updated policies, standard operating procedures, and escalation workflows.

    • Governance Council: Established a data security and compliance oversight committee for continuous improvement.

Business Outcomes

Improved Compliance and Audit Readiness


Automated controls and continuous monitoring made HIPAA, SOC 2, and other audits more efficient and successful.

Reduced Risk of Data Breaches


Improved access controls, encryption, and real-time monitoring significantly reduced vulnerabilities.

Faster Incident Detection and Response


Security events were detected and addressed in near real time, minimizing potential impact.

Stronger Organizational Security Culture


Ongoing training and policy clarity helped embed security practices across teams.

Sample KPIs

Here’s a quick summary of the kinds of KPI’s and goals teams were working towards**:

Metric Before After Improvement
Time to detect security incidents 24 hours 1 hour 95% faster detection
Compliance audit preparation time 3 weeks 3 days 85% reduction
Access policy violations Frequent, untracked Monitored, rare Reduced by 70%
Encryption coverage 40% of systems 100% Full compliance
User training completion rate 60% 98% Increased adoption
**Disclaimer: The set of KPI’s are for illustration only and do not reference any specific client data or actual results – they have been modified and anonymized to protect confidentiality and avoid disclosing client data.

Customer Value

Minimized Risk Exposure


A proactive security approach significantly lowered the likelihood of breaches and fines.

Regulatory Confidence


The organization gained the tools and processes needed to meet and demonstrate compliance with evolving healthcare regulations.

Sample Skills of Resources

  • Security Architects: Designed IAM models and encryption strategies.

  • Compliance Analysts: Mapped controls to regulatory frameworks and automated audit processes.

  • Cloud Engineers: Hardened cloud infrastructure and implemented CSPM tools.

  • Incident Response Specialists: Developed detection and containment playbooks.

  • Change Management Leads: Drove awareness, training, and stakeholder communication.

Tools & Technologies

  • IAM & Access Management: Azure AD, Okta

  • Monitoring & SIEM: Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel

  • Compliance & GRC: LogicGate, Qualys, ServiceNow GRC

  • Encryption & DLP: BitLocker, TLS 1.2+, Azure Information Protection

  • Cloud Security Tools: AWS Security Hub, Defender for Cloud, Prisma Cloud

  • Training & Awareness: KnowBe4, Wizer

Alignment with healthcare regulations like HIPAA and HITECH.

Conclusion

Curate’s security and compliance transformation helped the healthcare organization transition from reactive risk management to a proactive, data-driven security model. By aligning modern technologies with strong governance and continuous monitoring, the organization not only achieved regulatory compliance but also built a sustainable framework for protecting patient data, maintaining stakeholder trust, and enabling secure digital growth in a dynamic healthcare landscape.

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