Category Archives: Cloud Computing

Cloud computing technology has taken the world by storm over the past few years, and growth in this industry shows no signs of slowing down. This growth accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic as companies around the world switched to remote work setups.

Even though the pandemic has slowed down and some companies are heading back into the office, the cloud computing industry continues to grow. Cloud technology provides convenient remote data storage, so organizations no longer have to rely entirely on on-premise solutions.

In this article, well dive into fascinating cloud computing statistics that represent the state of the industry right now. These statistics give us helpful insight into todays biggest cloud computing trends and how we can expect them to evolve in the future.

Companies around the world have been adopting cloud solutions at a rapid pace over the past few years, and we can expect this trend to continue. Many companies were forced to adopt some form of cloud computing over the past few years in order to facilitate secure remote work operations. However, companies that were already using the cloud are continuing to expand their cloud solutions.

While the US may be leading the way in cloud adoption and spending, other countries arent far behind. For many large enterprises with an international presence, cloud computing became a necessity to stay connected. Many countries are embracing cloud technology and are on track to match the US in terms of cloud adoption over the next decade.

In fact, many countries have launched government initiatives to promote the adoption and advancement of cloud technology locally. Right now, a huge percentage of global data centers are located in the United States. Other countries are working to reduce their reliance on American technology by developing their own data centers.

However, not everyone is so ready to make the leap into the cloud. For example, Japan has a much lower cloud adoption rate than many other countries due to strict regulatory concerns and differing cultural perspectives on cloud technology.

The global cloud market encompasses a wide range of platforms and services. Within the market, there are three key product segments: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS).

IaaS gives companies access to a flexible and scalable cloud setup that they can configure themselves. While the cloud provider manages the hardware, the client ultimately has full control over how it is used.

With PaaS, users have access to a full cloud platform that they can use to build their own applications. SaaS is different in that it gives users access to a web-based software program with data stored in the cloud. You likely already use cloud-based SaaS programs in your daily life like Google Drive and Slack.

These three segments of the cloud market can be broken down further in terms of customer base. For example, entrepreneurs and SMBs are going to engage with the cloud much differently than large enterprises.

One of the reasons why cloud technology has become so popular is because it can be a very safe data storage solution when implemented correctly. Cloud storage also minimizes some of the physical safety risks that come with having an on-prem data center.

However, working in the cloud still comes with its own security risks. Many companies migrated to the cloud at a very rapid pace when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which meant that they didnt necessarily have the time or resources to properly secure their new cloud system. Some of the biggest challenges that organizations face include data privacy and security compliance when implementing cloud systems.

With cloud technology developing at such a rapid pace, it makes sense that cloud careers are taking off as well. Many jobs in the cloud market are with enterprise companies, such as AWS, Azure, and Google. However, many smaller businesses also need their own in-house cloud specialists to implement new cloud solutions or maintain existing ones.

Cloud designers and architects have become particularly valuable as many companies are building their own cloud systems from scratch. Cloud architects handle the broader infrastructure and strategy for their organizations cloud setup. Cloud designers build the software programs that are run on the cloud. Because these roles are so competitive, having experience or even a certification in a specific type of cloud technology can give candidates an edge in the tech industry.

The great resignation set off by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused some challenges for companies transitioning to a cloud environment. Many have found their IT departments understaffed, and it can also be difficult to find IT professionals who are properly trained in modern cloud solutions.

Weve seen massive growth in the cloud industry over the past several years, but what does the future have in store? If current trends are any indication, it appears that cloud technology will continue to become mainstream across the globe.

While many enterprise-level organizations already rely on the cloud for much of their operations, were likely to see small-to-midsize businesses use the cloud in their businesses as well. We also may see new types of cloud services enter the market as providers innovate and develop new solutions.

Right now, the cloud services market is largely dominated by a few specific companies, but its likely well see new competitors enter the market in the years to come. While American companies are currently at the forefront of the market, other countries are already taking steps to expand their own cloud services domestically. This is likely to lead to broader global competition.

Within the broader cloud market, there are three different cloud structures that are widely used around the world. Public, private, and hybrid clouds are all used as part of organizational IT strategies across a variety of industries.

Public cloud services are run by third-party cloud providers, who essentially sell space in their cloud environment to clients. These cloud services are delivered entirely via the internet, so companies dont have to worry about maintaining their own data storage equipment. Although hundreds or even thousands of clients use public cloud services, each clients cloud environment is kept separate and secured. Public clouds tend to be a particularly good option for smaller organizations as they are very flexible.

A private cloud environment is run by an organization internally and is only accessible by employees of that organization. This cloud may be run out of an on-premise data center or out of a private remote data center. Employees can still access data in the cloud environment via a secure internet connection.

While private cloud environments require more maintenance than public clouds, they provide more security and compliance benefits. This makes them a good option for larger enterprises or organizations that work with sensitive pieces of data.

A hybrid cloud environment has elements of both a public cloud and a private cloud. Hybrid clouds have become a very popular solution for companies migrating their existing IT environment either fully or partially into the cloud.

With a hybrid IT environment, you might keep your most secure data in a private cloud run out of your offices, while using a public cloud for the rest of your data. This approach can help companies meet compliance standards using a private cloud, while keeping less sensitive data in a public cloud to save on maintenance costs.

These cloud statistics are indicative of broader trends within the IT industry. While COVID-19 may have forced companies into cloud usage to some degree, these cloud systems are here to stay. Employees have come to prefer remote work models, and secure cloud storage is necessary to make that happen.

While cloud adoption and innovation has historically been centered in the United States, the rest of the world is catching up. Many organizations and governments overseas are working to develop their own cloud systems and data centers.

Although cloud storage offers huge benefits for organizations of all sizes, it also comes with some challenges. Many organizations are concerned about cloud security and implementation. In-house cloud experts are in high demand, and many companies are understaffed.

This is where Managed IT Services can help. This approach allows you to outsource some or all of your IT needs to an expert team. This can help you manage your cloud systems appropriately and keep your systems safe, especially as your company grows.

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Cloud Computing Statistics (2023) | Parachute

1. Microsoft gave Wall Street hope, but then the cloud forecast turned dark  MarketWatch
2. Microsoft's cloud business keeps profits flowing in tougher times  Reuters
3. Microsoft quarterly profit falls 12% but cloud computing business shows strength  CNN

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1. Top 10 Stories on Cloud Computing in 2022  Data Center Knowledge
2. Gartner predicts robust cloud computing market till 2027  TechRepublic
3. How to address the cloud literacy gap and improve cloud ROI  Federal News Network
4. Tech Is Wrong to Cut Cloud Costs. Here's Why  Entrepreneur
5. Verticalization, managed services and sustainability to drive cloud trends in 2023  CIO
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Top 10 Stories on Cloud Computing in 2022 - Data Center Knowledge

Introduction

With the proliferation and widespread adoption of cloud computing solutions, HIPAA covered entities and business associates are questioning whether and how they can take advantage of cloud computing while complying with regulations protecting the privacy and security of electronic protected health information (ePHI). This guidance assists such entities, including cloud services providers (CSPs), in understanding their HIPAA obligations.

Cloud computing takes many forms. This guidance focuses on cloud resources offered by a CSP that is an entity legally separate from the covered entity or business associate considering the use of its services. CSPs generally offer online access to shared computing resources with varying levels of functionality depending on the users requirements, ranging from mere data storage to complete software solutions (e.g., an electronic medical record system), platforms to simplify the ability of application developers to create new products, and entire computing infrastructure for software programmers to deploy and test programs. Common cloud services are on-demand internet access to computing (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications) services. We encourage covered entities and business associates seeking information about types of cloud computing services and technical arrangement options to consult a resource offered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology; SP 800-145, The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing.[1]

The HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules (the HIPAA Rules) establish important protections for individually identifiable health information (called protected health information or PHI when created, received, maintained, or transmitted by a HIPAA covered entity or business associate), including limitations on uses and disclosures of such information, safeguards against inappropriate uses and disclosures, and individuals rights with respect to their health information. Covered entities and business associates must comply with the applicable provisions of the HIPAA Rules. A covered entity is a health plan, a health care clearinghouse, or a health care provider who conducts certain billing and payment related transactions electronically. A business associate is an entity or person, other than a member of the workforce of a covered entity, that performs functions or activities on behalf of, or provides certain services to, a covered entity that involve creating, receiving, maintaining, or transmitting PHI. A business associate also is any subcontractor that creates, receives, maintains, or transmits PHI on behalf of another business associate.

When a covered entity engages the services of a CSP to create, receive, maintain, or transmit ePHI (such as to process and/or store ePHI), on its behalf, the CSP is a business associate under HIPAA. Further, when a business associate subcontracts with a CSP to create, receive, maintain, or transmit ePHI on its behalf, the CSP subcontractor itself is a business associate. This is true even if the CSP processes or stores only encrypted ePHI and lacks an encryption key for the data. Lacking an encryption key does not exempt a CSP from business associate status and obligations under the HIPAA Rules. As a result, the covered entity (or business associate) and the CSP must enter into a HIPAA-compliant business associate agreement (BAA), and the CSP is both contractually liable for meeting the terms of the BAA and directly liable for compliance with the applicable requirements of the HIPAA Rules.

This guidance presents key questions and answers to assist HIPAA regulated CSPs and their customers in understanding their responsibilities under the HIPAA Rules when they create, receive, maintain or transmit ePHI using cloud products and services.

Yes, provided the covered entity or business associate enters into a HIPAA-compliant business associate contract or agreement (BAA) with the CSP that will be creating, receiving, maintaining, or transmitting electronic protected health information (ePHI) on its behalf, and otherwise complies with the HIPAA Rules. Among other things, the BAA establishes the permitted and required uses and disclosures of ePHI by the business associate performing activities or services for the covered entity or business associate, based on the relationship between the parties and the activities or services being performed by the business associate. The BAA also contractually requires the business associate to appropriately safeguard the ePHI, including implementing the requirements of the Security Rule. OCR has created guidance on the elements of BAAs[2]

A covered entity (or business associate) that engages a CSP should understand the cloud computing environment or solution offered by a particular CSP so that the covered entity (or business associate) can appropriately conduct its own risk analysis and establish risk management policies, as well as enter into appropriate BAAs. See 45 CFR 164.308(a)(1)(ii)(A); 164.308(a)(1)(ii)(B); and 164.502. Both covered entities and business associates must conduct risk analyses to identify and assess potential threats and vulnerabilities to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all ePHI they create, receive, maintain, or transmit. For example, while a covered entity or business associate may use cloud-based services of any configuration (public, hybrid, private, etc.),[3] provided it enters into a BAA with the CSP, the type of cloud configuration to be used may affect the risk analysis and risk management plans of all parties and the resultant provisions of the BAA.

In addition, a Service Level Agreement (SLA)[4] is commonly used to address more specific business expectations between the CSP and its customer, which also may be relevant to HIPAA compliance. For example, SLAs can include provisions that address such HIPAA concerns as:

If a covered entity or business associate enters into a SLA with a CSP, it should ensure that the terms of the SLA are consistent with the BAA and the HIPAA Rules. For example, the covered entity or business associate should ensure that the terms of the SLA and BAA with the CSP do not prevent the entity from accessing its ePHI in violation of 45 CFR 164.308(b)(3), 164.502(e)(2), and 164.504(e)(1).[6]

In addition to its contractual obligations, the CSP, as a business associate, has regulatory obligations and is directly liable under the HIPAA Rules if it makes uses and disclosures of PHI that are not authorized by its contract, required by law, or permitted by the Privacy Rule. A CSP, as a business associate, also is directly liable if it fails to safeguard ePHI in accordance with the Security Rule, or fails to notify the covered entity or business associate of the discovery of a breach of unsecured PHI in compliance with the Breach Notification Rule.

For more information about the Security Rule, see OCR and ONC tools for small entities[7] and OCR guidance on SR compliance.[8]

Yes, because the CSP receives and maintains (e.g., to process and/or store) electronic protected health information (ePHI) for a covered entity or another business associate. Lacking an encryption key for the encrypted data it receives and maintains does not exempt a CSP from business associate status and associated obligations under the HIPAA Rules. An entity that maintains ePHI on behalf of a covered entity (or another business associate) is a business associate, even if the entity cannot actually view the ePHI.[9] Thus, a CSP that maintains encrypted ePHI on behalf a covered entity (or another business associate) is a business associate, even if it does not hold a decryption key [10] and therefore cannot view the information. For convenience purposes this guidance uses the term no-viewservices to describe the situation in which the CSP maintains encrypted ePHI on behalf of a covered entity (or another business associate) without having access to the decryption key.

While encryption protects ePHI by significantly reducing the risk of the information being viewed by unauthorized persons, such protections alone cannot adequately safeguard the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of ePHI as required by the Security Rule. Encryption does not maintain the integrity and availability of the ePHI, such as ensuring that the information is not corrupted by malware, or ensuring through contingency planning that the data remains available to authorized persons even during emergency or disaster situations. Further, encryption does not address other safeguards that are also important to maintaining confidentiality, such as administrative safeguards to analyze risks to the ePHI or physical safeguards for systems and servers that may house the ePHI.

As a business associate, a CSP providing no-view services is not exempt from any otherwise applicable requirements of the HIPAA Rules. However, the requirements of the Rules are flexible and scalable to take into account the no-view nature of the services provided by the CSP.

All CSPs that are business associates must comply with the applicable standards and implementation specifications of the Security Rule with respect to ePHI. However, in cases where a CSP is providing only no-view services to a covered entity (or business associate) customer, certain Security Rule requirements that apply to the ePHI maintained by the CSP may be satisfied for both parties through the actions of one of the parties. In particular, where only the customer controls who is able to view the ePHI maintained by the CSP, certain access controls, such as authentication or unique user identification, may be the responsibility of the customer, while others, such as encryption, may be the responsibility of the CSP business associate. Which access controls are to be implemented by the customer and which are to be implemented by the CSP may depend on the respective security risk management plans of the parties as well as the terms of the BAA. For example, if a customer implements its own reasonable and appropriate user authentication controls and agrees that the CSP providing no-view services need not implement additional procedures to authenticate (verify the identity of) a person or entity seeking access to ePHI, these Security Rule access control responsibilities would be met for both parties by the action of the customer.

However, as a business associate, the CSP is still responsible under the Security Rule for implementing other reasonable and appropriate controls to limit access to information systems that maintain customer ePHI. For example, even when the parties have agreed that the customer is responsible for authenticating access to ePHI, the CSP may still be required to implement appropriate internal controls to assure only authorized access to the administrative tools that manage the resources (e.g., storage, memory, network interfaces, CPUs) critical to the operation of its information systems. For example, a CSP that is a business associate needs to consider and address, as part of its risk analysis and risk management process, the risks of a malicious actor having unauthorized access to its systems administrative tools, which could impact system operations and impact the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the customers ePHI. CSPs should also consider the risks of using unpatched or obsolete administrative tools. The CSP and the customer should each confirm in writing, in either the BAA or other documents, how each party will address the Security Rule requirements.

Note that where the contractual agreements between a CSP and customer provide that the customer will control and implement certain security features of the cloud service consistent with the Security Rule, and the customer fails to do so, OCR will consider this factor as important and relevant during any investigation into compliance of either the customer or the CSP. A CSP is not responsible for the compliance failures that are attributable solely to the actions or inactions of the customer, as determined by the facts and circumstances of the particular case.

A business associate may only use and disclose PHI as permitted by its BAA and the Privacy Rule, or as otherwise required by law. While a CSP that provides only no-view services to a covered entity or business associate customer may not control who views the ePHI, the CSP still must ensure that it itself only uses and discloses the encrypted information as permitted by its BAA and the Privacy Rule, or as otherwise required by law. This includes, for example, ensuring the CSP does not impermissibly use the ePHI by blocking or terminating access by the customer to the ePHI.[11]

Further, a BAA must include provisions that require the business associate to, among other things, make available PHI as necessary for the covered entity to meet its obligations to provide individuals with their rights to access, amend, and receive an accounting of certain disclosures of PHI in compliance with 45 CFR 164.504(e)(2)(ii)(E)-(G). The BAA between a no-view CSP and a covered entity or business associate customer should describe in what manner the no-view CSP will meet these obligations for example, a CSP may agree in the BAA that it will make the ePHI available to the customer for the purpose of incorporating amendments to ePHI requested by the individual, but only the customer will make those amendments.

As a business associate, a CSP that offers only no-view services to a covered entity or business associate still must comply with the HIPAA breach notification requirements that apply to business associates. In particular, a business associate is responsible for notifying the covered entity (or the business associate with which it has contracted) of breaches of unsecured PHI. See 45 CFR 164.410. Unsecured PHI is PHI that has not been destroyed or is not encrypted at the levels specified in HHS Guidance to Render Unsecured Protected Health Information Unusable, Unreadable, or Indecipherable to Unauthorized Individuals [12] If the ePHI that has been breached is encrypted consistent with the HIPAA standards set forth in 45 CFR 164.402(2) and HHS Guidance [13] the incident falls within the breach safe harbor and the CSP business associate is not required to report the incident to its customer. However, if the ePHI is encrypted, but not at a level that meets the HIPAA standards or the decryption key was also breached, then the incident must be reported to its customer as a breach, unless one of the exceptions to the definition of breach applies. See 45 CFR 164.402. See also 45 CFR 164.410 for more information about breach notification obligations for business associates.

Generally, no. CSPs that provide cloud services to a covered entity or business associate that involve creating, receiving, or maintaining (e.g., to process and/or store) electronic protected health information (ePHI) meet the definition of a business associate, even if the CSP cannot view the ePHI because it is encrypted and the CSP does not have the decryption key.

As explained in previous guidance,[14] the conduit exception is limited to transmission-only services for PHI (whether in electronic or paper form), including any temporary storage of PHI incident to such transmission. Any access to PHI by a conduit is only transient in nature. In contrast, a CSP that maintains ePHI for the purpose of storing it will qualify as a business associate, and not a conduit, even if the CSP does not actually view the information, because the entity has more persistent access to the ePHI.

Further, where a CSP provides transmission services for a covered entity or business associate customer, in addition to maintaining ePHI for purposes of processing and/or storing the information, the CSP is still a business associate with respect to such transmission of ePHI. The conduit exception applies where the only services provided to a covered entity or business associate customer are for transmission of ePHI that do not involve any storage of the information other than on a temporary basis incident to the transmission service.

OCR does not endorse, certify, or recommend specific technology or products.

If a covered entity (or business associate) uses a CSP to maintain (e.g., to process or store) electronic protected health information (ePHI) without entering into a BAA with the CSP, the covered entity (or business associate) is in violation of the HIPAA Rules. 45 C.F.R 164.308(b)(1) and 164.502(e). OCR has entered into a resolution agreement and corrective action plan with a covered entity that OCR determined stored ePHI of over 3,000 individuals on a cloud-based server without entering into a BAA with the CSP.[15]

Further, a CSP that meets the definition of a business associate that is a CSP that creates, receives, maintains, or transmits PHI on behalf of a covered entity or another business associate must comply with all applicable provisions of the HIPAA Rules, regardless of whether it has executed a BAA with the entity using its services. See 78 Fed. Reg. 5565, 5598 (January 25, 2013). OCR recognizes that there may, however, be circumstances where a CSP may not have actual or constructive knowledge that a covered entity or another business associate is using its services to create, receive, maintain, or transmit ePHI. The HIPAA Rules provide an affirmative defense in cases where a CSP takes action to correct any non-compliance within 30 days (or such additional period as OCR may determine appropriate based on the nature and extent of the non-compliance) of the time that it knew or should have known of the violation (e.g., at the point the CSP knows or should have known that a covered entity or business associate customer is maintaining ePHI in its cloud). 45 CFR 160.410. This affirmative defense does not, however, apply in cases where the CSP was not aware of the violation due to its own willful neglect.

If a CSP becomes aware that it is maintaining ePHI, it must come into compliance with the HIPAA Rules, or securely return the ePHI to the customer or, if agreed to by the customer, securely destroy the ePHI. Once the CSP securely returns or destroys the ePHI (subject to arrangement with the customer), it is no longer a business associate. We recommend CSPs document these actions.

While a CSP maintains ePHI, the HIPAA Rules prohibit the CSP from using or disclosing the data in a manner that is inconsistent with the Rules.

Yes. The Security Rule at 45 CFR 164.308(a)(6)(ii) requires business associates to identify and respond to suspected or known security incidents; mitigate, to the extent practicable, harmful effects of security incidents that are known to the business associate; and document security incidents and their outcomes. In addition, the Security Rule at 45 CFR 164.314(a)(2)(i)(C) provides that a business associate agreement must require the business associate to report, to the covered entity or business associate whose electronic protected health information (ePHI) it maintains, any security incidents of which it becomes aware. A security incident under 45 CFR 164.304 means the attempted or successful unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction of information or interference with system operations in an information system. Thus, a business associate CSP must implement policies and procedures to address and document security incidents, and must report security incidents to its covered entity or business associate customer.

The Security Rule, however, is flexible and does not prescribe the level of detail, frequency, or format of reports of security incidents, which may be worked out between the parties to the business associate agreement (BAA). For example, the BAA may prescribe differing levels of detail, frequency, and formatting of reports based on the nature of the security incidents e.g., based on the level of threat or exploitation of vulnerabilities, and the risk to the ePHI they pose. The BAA could also specify appropriate responses to certain incidents and whether identifying patterns of attempted security incidents is reasonable and appropriate.

Note, though, that the Breach Notification Rule specifies the content, timing, and other requirements for a business associate to report incidents that rise to the level of a breach of unsecured PHI to the covered entity (or business associate) on whose behalf the business associate is maintaining the PHI. See 45 CFR 164.410. The BAA may specify more stringent (e.g., more timely) requirements for reporting than those required by the Breach Notification Rule (so long as they still also meet the Rules requirements) but may not otherwise override the Rules requirements for notification of breaches of unsecured PHI.

For more information on this topic, see the FAQ about reporting security incidents(although directed to plan sponsors and group health plans, the guidance is also relevant to business associates); [16] as well as OCR breach notification guidance [17]

Yes. Health care providers, other covered entities, and business associates may use mobile devices to access electronic protected health information (ePHI) in a cloud as long as appropriate physical, administrative, and technical safeguards are in place to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the ePHI on the mobile device and in the cloud, and appropriate BAAs are in place with any third party service providers for the device and/or the cloud that will have access to the e-PHI. The HIPAA Rules do not endorse or require specific types of technology, but rather establish the standards for how covered entities and business associates may use or disclose ePHI through certain technology while protecting the security of the ePHI by requiring analysis of the risks to the ePHI posed by such technology and implementation of reasonable and appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to address such risks. OCR and ONC have issued guidance on the use of mobile devices and tips for securing ePHI on mobile devices. [18]

No, the HIPAA Rules generally do not require a business associate to maintain electronic protected health information (ePHI) beyond the time it provides services to a covered entity or business associate. The Privacy Rule provides that a business associate agreement (BAA) must require a business associate to return or destroy all PHI at the termination of the BAA where feasible. See 45 CFR 164.504(e)(2)(ii)(J).

If such return or destruction is not feasible, the BAA must extend the privacy and security protections of the BAA to the ePHI and limit further uses and disclosures to those purposes that make the return or destruction of the information infeasible. For example, return or destruction would be considered infeasible if other law requires the business associate CSP to retain ePHI for a period of time beyond the termination of the business associate contract.[19]

Yes, provided the covered entity (or business associate) enters into a business associate agreement (BAA) with the CSP and otherwise complies with the applicable requirements of the HIPAA Rules. However, while the HIPAA Rules do not include requirements specific to protection of electronic protected health information (ePHI) processed or stored by a CSP or any other business associate outside of the United States, OCR notes that the risks to such ePHI may vary greatly depending on its geographic location. In particular, outsourcing storage or other services for ePHI overseas may increase the risks and vulnerabilities to the information or present special considerations with respect to enforceability of privacy and security protections over the data. Covered entities (and business associates, including the CSP) should take these risks into account when conducting the risk analysis and risk management required by the Security Rule. See 45 CFR 164.308(a)(1)(ii)(A) and (a)(1)(ii)(B). For example, if ePHI is maintained in a country where there are documented increased attempts at hacking or other malware attacks, such risks should be considered, and entities must implement reasonable and appropriate technical safeguards to address such threats.

No. The HIPAA Rules require covered entity and business associate customers to obtain satisfactory assurances in the form of a business associate agreement (BAA) with the CSP that the CSP will, among other things, appropriately safeguard the protected health information (PHI) that it creates, receives, maintains or transmits for the covered entity or business associate in accordance with the HIPAA Rules. The CSP is also directly liable for failing to safeguard electronic PHI in accordance with the Security Rule [20] and for impermissible uses or disclosures of the PHI. [21]. The HIPAA Rules do not expressly require that a CSP provide documentation of its security practices to or otherwise allow a customer to audit its security practices. However, customers may require from a CSP (through the BAA, service level agreement, or other documentation) additional assurances of protections for the PHI, such as documentation of safeguards or audits, based on their own risk analysis and risk management or other compliance activities.

No. A CSP is not a business associate if it receives and maintains (e.g., to process and/or store) only information de-identified following the processes required by the Privacy Rule. The Privacy Rule does not restrict the use or disclosure of de-identified information, nor does the Security Rule require that safeguards be applied to de-identified information, as the information is not considered protected health information. See the OCR guidance on de-identificationfor more information.[22]

[1] See http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-145.pdf

[3] As adapted from NIST Special Publication 800-144, vi:

A Public cloud is open for use by the general public and may be owned, managed, and operated by any organization. Examples are the message storage services offered by major email providers, photo-sharing sites, and certain EMR providers. Many large organizations use Private clouds that exclusively serve their business functions. A Community cloud serves exclusively a specific community of users from organizations that have shared concerns. A Hybrid cloud is a combination of any of the above, bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability.

[9] 78 Fed. Reg. 5,566, 5,572 (January 25, 2013).

[10] A key used to encrypt and decrypt data, also called a cryptographic key, is [a] parameter used in conjunction with a cryptographic algorithm that determines its operation in such a way that an entity with knowledge of the key can reproduce or reverse the operation, while an entity without knowledge of the key cannot. See NIST SP 800-47 Part 1 Revision 4, Recommendation for Key Management Part 1: General (January 2016). Available at http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-57pt1r4.pdf

[19] 67 Fed. Reg. 53181, 53254 (August 14, 2002).

[20] See Section 13401 of the HITECH Act.

[21] See 45 CFR 164.502(a)(3).

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1. Microsoft warns of cloud computing slowdown  Financial Times
2. Microsoft stock slammed by cloud-growth fears, taking Amazon down with it  MarketWatch
3. Can Microsoft's Cloud Computing Continue to Deliver Growth?  Nasdaq
4. MSFT Stock: Microsoft Edges Above Quarterly Targets On Cloud Growth | Investor's Business Daily  Investor's Business Daily
5. Microsoft's stock slides as Azure cloud growth engine stalls  SiliconANGLE News
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Rowan Trollope, CEO, Five9

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Cloud stocks plummeted 11% this week, the steepest drop since January, as executive departures at Five9 and Zscaler and investors' continued rotation out of risk combined to send the group to its lowest level since March 2020.

The WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund, a basket of 75 cloud software stocks, has lost 53% of its value for the year, more than double the drop in the S&P 500. After soaring in 2020 and 2021, when Wall Street piled into growth at the expense of profit, the sector has fallen out of favor in 2022 on concerns over inflation and rising interest rates.

Five9 shares suffered the biggest decline in the index, falling 29% for the week, after CEO Rowan Trollope said he was leaving to run a pre-IPO company. While the provider of call center software also pre-announced third-quarter revenue that indicated results would be better than expected, the numbers weren't good enough to offset the concern caused by a transition in the C-suite.

Trollope, who's been CEO since 2018, is being succeeded by Mike Burkland, who resigned as CEO in 2017 after he was diagnosed with cancer.

"Interest level in the name remains high, but confidence is shaken following both announcements and the lack of clarification from Five9 until the earnings call next month," wrote analysts from Piper Sandler in a report on Oct. 13. The firm still has a buy rating on the stock.

Five9 wasn't the only company in the group to lose a top executive. Security software vendor Zscaler announced the resignation of its president, Amit Sinha, who is also taking a CEO position at a pre-IPO company. The stock plunged 21% for the week.

"While it's never (or rarely) thought of as good news for a C-level executive to leave a company, we believe this change will not impact Zscaler's near- or long-term prospects, and it appears to be a unique opportunity for Mr. Sinha," wrote analysts from Guggenheim who recommend buying the stock.

It was a choppy week for the markets broadly, capped off by a selloff on Friday. A consumer survey from the University of Michigan showed inflation expectations were increasing, a sentiment that the Federal Reserve is likely watching closely. The Nasdaq led declines as growth companies are most sensitive to interest rate hikes.

The WisdomTree index fell all five days this week, and had its worst day on Friday, dropping 3.6%. SentinelOne, which sells cybersecurity software, dropped 22%, even with no particular news driving the decline. GitLab, a code repository for developers, slid 21%. SentinelOne and GitLab both went public last year in high-profile IPOs. They've each lost more than half their value this year.

WATCH: The efficiencies of the cloud pose a long-term threat to hardware

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Cloud stocks just wrapped up their worst week since January, led by plunge in Five9 and SentinelOne - CNBC

Building cloud-native applications offers many advantages for the modern enterpriseincluding reduced costs, improved efficiency, greater scalability, easier development and simplified support. But did you know that building cloud-native applications is also good for the environment?

Public cloud providerssuch as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Googlehave taken over data centers. These three public cloud providers account for over half of the worlds largest data centers. This consolidation of data centers has enabled anotheralbeit lesser-knownadvantage of cloud computing: The greening of the data center.

All three companies are driving toward data center sustainability and environmental responsibilitykey driving forces in the massive build-out of data centers worldwide. AWS alone boasts that its infrastructure is 3.6 times more energy efficient than the median U.S. enterprise data center.

Why are data center companies going green in droves? Because it makes financial sense. Data centers can be located almost anywhere, so locating them near cheap and highly available sustainable energy sources (such as wind, water and solar) means the huge quantities of electricity that power data centers can be acquired more economically. Additionally, using greener energy sources provides huge public relations benefits to public cloud providers.

Therefore, its not just the data centers themselves that are greeneroperating applications in the public cloud requires less energy than operating applications on-premises. Why does an application running in the cloud use less energy than running on-premises? There are several reasons: First, the ability to operate dynamic infrastructures in the public cloud means an application doesnt require numerous servers idling around unused, waiting to handle peak application usage times. This reduces the resources required to run an application. The cloud providers dynamics of scale can provide more intelligent load balancing of resources across a smaller footprint of physical servers. Finally, the centralization of numerous servers means that the economics of scale make using eco-friendly energy sourcessuch as wind and waterfar more financially viable.

The overall result: A typical application can run using substantially less energy in the public cloud than an equivalent on-premises application. According to AWS, moving an application to the cloud can reduce your carbon emissions by 88%.

And the improvements will keep coming. As the major cloud providers continue to expand and innovate, their ability to leverage greener energy options will continue to grow. Google already boasts 100% usage of renewable energy for its data centers.

Plus, data centers, by their very nature, can be located almost anywhere, even underwater. The nature of communications technology means that the speed of communicating with an application in a data center is irrelevant of its physical location. As such, data centers can be located near where inexpensive renewable energy is available. That means data centers can be located near giant wind farms, hydroelectric dams, or large solar arrays. Project Natick, Microsofts offshore renewable energy-powered data center experiment, is a great example of this. So-called dark data centersdata centers that need little or no human contactoffer a great opportunity to use point-of-creation renewable energy sources efficiently and economically.

So, data centers take less energythats great. But how much of an impact does this actually make on worldwide energy usage?

The answer is: Quite a significant impact. According to some estimates, by 2030, more than 20% of all global electricity usage will be for information and communications usage. Already today, data centers account for 1% to 2% of all worldwide energy usage.

Data centers use considerable energy, and their centralized nature means we can apply eco-friendly strategies to reduce their energy usage. The result is a significant impact on worldwide energy usage. So, go ahead and build that cloud-native application. Use more and more cloud computing. After all, its good for the environmentand your bottom line!

Related

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Cloud-Native Computing is Good for the Environment - Container Journal

By Samit Banerjee

For Enterprises of today and tomorrow, the road to success has been carved with an inevitable pitstop and that is at the Cloud. Keeping up this pace of progress has become elemental to earn a competitive edge in the COVID era and the biggest risk an enterprise could take would be to slow down its digital journey to a crawl. However, while making this transition, many service providers fail to critically map and align cloud journeys to their business strategies, and current priorities, leading to a sore failure of cloud migration. Moreover, if not adopted in the right manner, compliance risks could complicate issues further.

So, what are the best practices and potential risks while adopting the cloud at scale? Making the Cloud a bright success: The best practices

Lightning strikes: The risks of ad-hoc cloud use

While cloud success at scale has positively transformed and redefined ways of working globally, cloud computing collates all the resources needed to develop, test, and launch new applications and services which are only a few clicks away. For large enterprises, especially those in highly regulated industries, this is precisely what introduces the biggest risks. To maintain a check on cloud consumption and eliminate unwanted chaos, proper operational controls and processes can ring-fence enterprises from security and compliance issues, here are some risks of ad-hoc cloud use:

The author is Division President, Amdocs Cloud Operations Services.Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETCIO.com does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETCIO.com shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organization directly or indirectly.

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Five best practices to drive an effective cloud migration - ETCIO