HIPAA Glossary · Security Rule concepts
Technical safeguards
Access control, audit controls, integrity, authentication, and transmission security for ePHI.
Context
Five standards at §164.312. Engineering-led teams tend to do these well and then assume the job is done — which is roughly a third of the rule handled and the most-cited third neglected. See [the technical safeguards guide](/guides/hipaa-technical-safeguards/).
Related terms
- Administrative safeguards — The management layer of the Security Rule — risk analysis, workforce security, training, incident procedures, contingency planning, evaluation.
- Physical safeguards — Facility access controls, workstation security, and device and media controls, including disposal.
- Encryption — Rendering data unreadable without a key. Addressable at rest and in transit under the Security Rule.
- Audit controls — Mechanisms that record and allow examination of activity in systems containing ePHI — plus, in practice, somebody actually reviewing the output.
Where this fits
This is one of 50+ terms in the HIPAA Glossary. For how HIPAA is structured end-to-end, see the Security Rule guide and the Privacy Rule guide.