When it comes to which remote access software you choose, there are standards that every business should come to expect in terms of security and compliance features. It’s 2019 and with any software you choose, security needs to be top of mind.
Today, a business’ most valuable and sensitive assets come in the form of data – every business needs to make sure its digital security is held to the highest standards in the market. Additionally, customers and clients will expect that any data they entrust to your business will be kept as secure as possible.
That’s why you should choose a remote access software solution that meets and exceeds industry compliance standards. There are many reasons compliance standards are important, but the biggest one is probably peace of mind for you and your customers.
Whether your business is most concerned with FIPS encryption, HIPAA, PCI DSS, or GDPR compliance, Impero’s remote access software meets or exceeds every encryption and compliance standard out there.
In this article we’ll explore the most common security compliance and encryption standards, how they relate to ensuring you have secure remote access software, and why they are important for every business.
How HIPAA Compliant Remote Access Software Keeps Patients Safe
In 2009 Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a sprawling stimulus package that included the HITECH Act. As companies that must adhere to HIPAA standards are already aware, the HITECH Act allowed the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to invest billions to expand the adoption of health information technology.
A huge part of that expansion included a focus on encryption. Essentially, according to HITECH, any Personal Health Information (PHI) that is not encrypted is considered unsecured PHI and can result in a fine. If your business adheres to HIPAA standards, you need to ensure that all your communications are encrypted with the highest level of security.
This encryption standard also extends to your remote access software. Impero helps you protect patient security by guaranteeing compliance with HIPAA’s security requirements, including:
- Centralized 2 and 3 factor authentication
- Timeout Logoff
- Impero Logging (record all remote sessions verbatim, store forever)
- Smart card authentication and tunneling
- Encryption via the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) up to 256-bit
- Integrity and message authentication
- Encrypted key exchange
When thinking about your remote access software, there are two main kinds of data to consider: data in motion and data at rest. It’s straightforward to ensure a software provider is using proper encryption for data in motion as, according to HITECH, valid encryption processes must “comply with the requirements of Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140–2.”
It’s much harder to determine whether or not your software provider has proper, HIPAA-compliant encryption for data at rest. The specifics are complicated and relegated to a footnote. It’s easy to miss the requirements for encrypting data at rest, but Impero can ensure your business’ data is totally compliant whether in motion or at rest.
For more information on how Impero’s remote access software exceeds HIPAA security compliance standards, take a look at our security standards.
PCI DSS Compliant Remote Access Software
If your business handles any credit card transactions, it’s imperative that you are PCI DSS compliant. According to the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, “the PCI DSS applies to ANY organization, regardless of size or number of transactions, that accepts, transmits, or stores any cardholder data.”
When considering remote access software, you must make sure the provider you choose offers full PCI DSS compliance.
Impero goes beyond basic compliance PCI requirements by offering stronger encryption and more authentication security. For specifics on how Impero takes security one step further, check out our detailed security standards, and download our PCI compliance checklist.
Secure GDPR Compliant Remote Access Software
Last year the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect, as mandated by the European Union. It laid out sweeping changes to data security and the way data is handled.
Violating the GDPR also comes with significant financial penalties. If you do business online, it’s vital that your organization is completely compliant. When choosing remote access software, protect yourself and your business by ensuring it complies with the GDPR to avoid unnecessary fines.
Because the GDPR was designed to help protect citizens’ data, it has some unique requirements around consent and data minimization for full compliance. Impero ensures demonstrable consent through our Confirm Access option. Plus, connection notifications are available at every step of the remote session to provide users with a full picture of any data processing.
As for data minimization, Impero offers several options:
- Custom hostname options
- Directory integration
- Phonebook files
- Event logging
- Log location
For the full picture of how Impero exceeds GDPR compliance standards, navigate to our security standards page and download our GDPR compliance checklist.
Why Your Remote Access Software Should Use FIPS Encryption
FIPS stands for Federal Information Processing Standards and, long story short, US Government agencies and many other countries are only allowed to purchase FIPS-compliant products. To ensure full compliance, you need to also ensure your remote access software is FIPS enabled.
Interestingly, many FIPS enabled products can be put into a mode that only uses FIPS approved algorithms and methods. In the industry, this is referred to as “FIPS-mode.” Many products can run in a “regular” mode in addition to a FIPS-mode. Impero remote access software is built to always run in FIPS mode by default, making it FIPS approved at all times.
Picking Compliant and Secure Remote Access Software
In 2019, there are certain standards you should come to expect at the intersection of compliance and your remote access software. Data security and processing are hugely important factors when choosing the right software for your business in the immediate and long term.
Impero takes compliance seriously no matter what industry you’re in. Security is key, and whether it’s FIPS, HIPAA, GDPR, or PCI DSS compliance you’re looking for, Impero combines advanced security, encryption, and authentication methods into a single platform to exceed more compliance standards than any other remote access software.