Health-Insurance: Alert: New HIPAA Rules Could Affect Your Organization's Email System

On April 21, 2005, a new Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) security rule went into effect. The
requirements of this rule, which are basically information security
best practices, focus on the three cornerstones of a solid
information security infrastructure: confidentiality, integrity and
availability of information.

The HIPAA regulatory requirements encompass transmission, storage
and discoverability of Protected Health Information (PHI). Given the
widespread use and mission-critical nature of email, enforcement of
HIPAA encryption policies and the growing demand for secure email
solutions, email security has never been more important to the
healthcare industry than it is right now.