The Federal government requires organizations to identify PII (Personally Identifiable Information) and PHI (Protected Health Information) and handle them securely. Any unauthorized release of this data could result in severe repercussions for the individual whose information has been compromised, as well as for the government entity responsible for safeguarding that information.
Securing Privacy Related Data
With increasing incidents of data breach and cyber threats, protecting PHI and PII is more critical than ever. The exposure of this information can lead to identity theft, financial fraud, medical record tampering, and legal consequences for organizations that fail to secure sensitive data. Given the importance of PHI and PII, strict compliance requirements, such as those outlined in HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), ensure data security across industries.
To effectively safeguard this data, organizations must first understand what PHI and PII are, how they differ, and why protecting them is crucial.
What is PHI?
HIPAA mandates that healthcare organizations, insurance providers, and other covered entities follow stringent security regulations when handling PHI. PHI refers to any health information that is:
- Individually identifiable
- Created, received, or maintained by a healthcare provider, health plan, or health clearinghouse
- Related to an individual's physical or mental health, past, present, or future
As organizations digitize patient records and rely on cloud-based platforms for collaboration, securing PHI requires end-to-end encryption, access controls, and detailed audit logs to monitor who accesses the data and when.
Examples of PHI
PHI is specific to healthcare-related data and includes:
- Medical history and lab results
- Treatment plans and progress notes
- X-rays, MRIs, and other imaging scans
- Health insurance policy details
- Prescription records
- Billing statements that include patient information
How Many Elements of Information Are Identified as PHI?
HIPAA defines 18 PHI identifiers, which can be used alone or in combination to identify an individual. These elements must be protected under HIPAA regulations and cannot be disclosed without patient consent or legal authorization.
What is PII?
PII is any information that can be used to identify, locate, or contact a person, either alone or in combination with other easily accessible data. Unlike PHI, which specifically applies to healthcare data, PII covers a broader range of personal details.
With remote work and digital collaboration now a commonplace framework, organizations are more vulnerable to data breaches than ever. Employees frequently share sensitive PII via email, chat applications, or unsecured file sharing platforms, increasing the risk of unauthorized access and compliance violations.
To prevent accidental leaks or unauthorized sharing, businesses can use FileCloud’s Smart Data Leak Prevention (DLP) policies, automatic file classification, and granular sharing restrictions to ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive files.
Examples of PII
Although collecting and selling PII is legal in some circumstances, it can be exploited by cybercriminals for identity theft, fraud, and other malicious activities. Some of the most commonly stolen PII include:
- Full names, addresses, and Social Security Numbers
- Email accounts and login credentials
- Credit card and banking details
- Phone numbers and biometric data
- Employment history and salary information
Many organizations must regularly transfer and store PII, especially in finance, government, and legal industries. Ensuring that files containing PII remain protected from unauthorized access is a key component of compliance and cybersecurity risk management.
PHI and PII Best Practices
Protecting PHI and PII is critical for maintaining compliance and preventing security breaches. Best practices include:
- Encrypting sensitive data at rest and in transit
- Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for secure access
- Training employees on cybersecurity and data protection policies
- Conducting regular security audits to identify vulnerabilities
- Restricting access to sensitive data based on user roles
- Using secure file-sharing solutions like FileCloud, which ensures HIPAA and GDPR compliance
PHI and PII Penalties
Violating HIPAA regulations can lead to severe legal and financial consequences. Fines for HIPAA non-compliance can range from $100 to $50,000 per violation, with a maximum annual penalty of $1.5 million.
PII violations, depending on the law being violated (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), can result in hefty fines, lawsuits, and reputational damage.
How to Ensure PHI and PII Compliance?
Ensuring PHI and PII compliance requires a robust security framework, strict access controls, and a reliable file-sharing solution that meets HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, and other regulatory requirements.
FileCloud provides a secure, self-hosted and cloud-based file-sharing platform that enables organizations to protect sensitive data through advanced encryption, access controls, and compliance-ready features. With automated compliance policies, audit logs, smart content classification, and Digital Rights Management (DRM), FileCloud’s HIPAA compliant cloud storage solution helps protect PHI and PII at every stage—whether at rest, in transit, or when shared externally.
Interested in learning how FileCloud can secure your PHI or PII data? Speak with an expert today!
PHI and PII FAQS
Why is PII important?
PII, or personally identifiable information, is information that is used to contact, identify, or locate a person, like their name, social security number, address, or phone number. It is important because the leakage of PII can lead to privacy and safety issues like personal embarrassment, workplace discrimination, and identity theft.
What is PHI vs PII?
PHI, or protected health information, is any type of health information, like physical or electronic health records, medical bills, and lab test results, that has individual identifiers (PII). The confidentiality requirements surrounding PHI are very strict and violation of these can lead to severe legal consequences.
Why is it important to protect PHI?
Protecting PHI ensures patient privacy. Keeping health information private is important because it leads to more trust, better communication, and higher levels of care between the patient and their health care professional. It also prevents personal embarrassment, financial harm, and possible discrimination based on health-related issues.
What happens if HIPAA is violated?
If someone unknowingly violates HIPAA, they can be subjected to a penalty of $100 per violation and up to $25,000 for repeated violations. If it is found that HIPAA rules were purposefully violated, the consequences are more severe: a minimum $50,000 fine and up to 10 years of jail time.
What are two ways to protect patient confidentiality?
There are many ways to protect patient information. Two common ways are ensuring that PHI data is encrypted at rest and in transit and storing PHI in a safe manner. These can both be accomplished by using a secure file storage and sharing solution like award-winning FileCloud.
How do you protect confidentiality?
You can protect confidentiality by keeping electronic files in a secure location with features like encryption, smart data leak protection, advanced permissions, and more. Other ways include ensuring that discussions about confidential information are held in private locations and written information is hidden from public view.
What are some PHI and PII Exclusions?
Some data, while personal, does not fall under the strict guidelines of PHI or PII regulations. This includes anonymous survey data, aggregated statistics that do not contain personally identifiable elements, employment records not linked to medical information. Understanding which data is regulated and which is not is crucial for compliance.
By Team FileCloud