Securing PCI DSS and PHI Data from the Start

PCI DSS is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It sets rules for protecting cardholder data: network security, encryption, access control, and ongoing monitoring. You don’t pass it once and forget. Compliance is continuous. Logs must be reviewed, patches applied, threats detected before they breach.

PHI is Protected Health Information. It includes any data that can identify a patient, tied to medical records, diagnoses, lab results, or billing information. Under HIPAA, PHI must be secure, private, and accessible only to authorized personnel. Encryption and audit trails aren’t optional—they’re baseline requirements.

When PCI DSS and PHI intersect, the stakes multiply. Healthcare organizations that process payments deal with both. That means one system securing card data and health data at the same time. Shared databases, APIs, and integrations must satisfy overlapping compliance checks. Weakness in one area compromises the whole.

To align with PCI DSS for cardholder data and HIPAA for PHI, systems must:

• Use strong encryption for all data in transit and at rest.
• Lock down access with role-based permissions and MFA.
• Segment networks so payment systems and medical data aren’t exposed to the same threats.
• Keep audit logs immutable and review them regularly.
• Test security controls through penetration tests and vulnerability scans.

Compliance isn’t just about avoiding fines. It’s about building trust into your product. Failure to protect PCI DSS or PHI data breaks that trust permanently.

The fastest way to meet these demands? Use infrastructure built for compliance from the start. See how you can secure PCI DSS and PHI data without slowing development—spinning up in minutes with hoop.dev.