Industries · Healthcare
Healthcare cybersecurity and HIPAA compliance services
CyNtell runs the HIPAA Security Risk Analysis, gap assessment, and ongoing security program that healthcare providers, health plans, and business associates need, from the first ePHI inventory through around-the-clock monitoring.
Built on
Ongoing HIPAA security program
Risk analyzed, gaps remediated, environment monitored
- 01
Risk analysis
Every place ePHI lives, with threats rated and documented.
- 02
Gap remediation
Administrative, physical, and technical safeguards closed out.
- 03
Continuous monitoring
CySOC watching your environment around the clock.
Mapped to 45 CFR 164.308(a)(1) and the HIPAA Security Rule. One outcome: a security program OCR would recognize as real.
Every organization that creates, receives, maintains, or transmits electronic protected health information (ePHI) must run a documented, enterprise-wide risk analysis under the HIPAA Security Rule and keep a security program that addresses what it finds. That includes hospitals and clinics, health plans, and the vendors and business associates who serve them.
HHS's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) now checks that risk analysis first after a breach, and it is actively settling cases against healthcare organizations of every size that lack one. CyNtell runs the risk analysis, the gap assessment behind it, and the ongoing security program that follows, backed by the testing, continuity planning, and monitoring needed to keep that program current between audits.
- Category
- HIPAA Security Rule compliance and healthcare cybersecurity services
- Who this is for
- Covered entities (providers, health plans, clearinghouses) and business associates handling ePHI
- Core deliverables
- HIPAA Security Risk Analysis, gap assessment, remediation plan, and Fractional CISO program management
- Frameworks referenced
- HIPAA Security Rule (45 CFR 164.308 to 164.318), HITECH Act, NIST SP 800-66, HITRUST
- Related CyNtell services
- Gap assessments, penetration testing, CySOC monitoring, and Fractional CISO
- Engagement model
- Risk analysis and gap assessment → security program management → continuous monitoring
Healthcare cybersecurity at a glance
Why healthcare security can't wait on a policy binder
13
OCR is actively enforcing risk analysis
OCR's Risk Analysis Initiative has completed 13 investigations, with four settlements announced in April 2026 alone. Every one cited a missing or inadequate risk analysis.
Source: OCR settlement announcements, April 2026
19
Ransomware is driving enforcement
OCR's ransomware enforcement has covered 19 investigations across providers, imaging centers, and benefit plan administrators, not just hospitals.
Source: OCR settlement announcements, April 2026
July 2027
The Security Rule is getting stricter
A pending HHS rule would make encryption, MFA, and annual penetration testing mandatory instead of addressable. The current target for a final rule is July 2027.
Source: HHS Unified Agenda, 2026
$2.19M
Penalties keep climbing with inflation
The top penalty tier, uncorrected willful neglect, now reaches $2,190,294 per violation category per year after the January 2026 inflation adjustment.
Source: HHS penalty table, January 2026
How CyNtell builds your HIPAA security program
Three phases, one baseline. Each phase works from the same risk analysis, so nothing gets lost between assessment and operations.
Phase 1
Risk analysis and gap assessment
What is a HIPAA Security Risk Analysis, and why does it matter right now?
A HIPAA Security Risk Analysis is the documented, enterprise-wide review of every place ePHI is created, received, stored, or transmitted, and the threats and vulnerabilities that could expose it. It is required under 45 CFR 164.308(a)(1) and should be reviewed at least annually.
OCR has told the industry directly that a documented risk analysis covering all ePHI is the first thing it looks for after a ransomware incident. CyNtell's risk analysis produces the artifact an investigator actually asks for: a scoped, evidenced review tied to your real systems, not a checklist exercise.
What does a HIPAA gap assessment cover?
CyNtell's HIPAA gap assessment verifies your controls against the Security Rule's three safeguard categories (administrative, physical, and technical) across all required and addressable implementation specifications, through interviews, control verification, and evidence review.
The output is a specific, prioritized remediation plan tied to each gap found, not a generic readiness score. Organizations working toward HITRUST, or that need HIPAA assessed alongside SOC 2, PCI DSS, or NIST, can run it as part of CyNtell's multi-framework gap assessment service.
Phase 2
Security program management
What is Fractional CISO program management for a healthcare organization?
CyNtell assigns a dedicated security specialist to run your HIPAA security program as a Fractional CISO, covering policy maintenance, workforce training, business associate oversight, and audit readiness. The responsibility gets a named owner instead of sitting with whoever has time.
Most healthcare organizations, especially smaller providers and clinics, don't have the headcount for a full-time CISO but carry the same regulatory exposure as one that does. This model gives them that ownership without a full-time hire, coordinated with CyNtell's broader Fractional CISO service.
Does your contingency plan actually work?
HIPAA requires a contingency plan covering data backup, disaster recovery, and emergency mode operations under 45 CFR 164.308(a)(7), along with procedures for testing and revising it. CyNtell builds business continuity plans and tests them, so recovery is proven before it's needed.
Ransomware turns this from paperwork into patient care. When EHR, scheduling, and imaging systems go down, a tested plan is what keeps clinicians working and ePHI recoverable.
Phase 3
Continuous monitoring
How does CyNtell help catch ransomware before it spreads?
SOC monitors your environment around the clock, staffed by CyNtell's own credentialed analysts, and is built to catch the kind of intrusion that leads to a ransomware event before it reaches the systems holding ePHI.
SOC works from the same risk analysis and gap assessment baseline, so there's no gap between what was assessed and what is being watched. Findings from monitoring feed back into the next risk analysis, keeping the program current year over year.
Who actually needs to comply with HIPAA?
Any covered entity, and any business associate that creates, receives, maintains, or transmits ePHI on a covered entity's behalf.
"We're not a hospital" isn't an exemption
Recent OCR enforcement has included a third-party benefits administrator and a self-funded employee health plan, not just hospitals and clinics.
Covered entities
- Healthcare providers
- Health plans
- Healthcare clearinghouses
Business associates
- Billing vendors
- Cloud hosting providers
- Benefits administrators
- Any vendor handling ePHI
Why healthcare organizations choose CyNtell
01
One team for the whole program
Risk analysis, penetration testing, continuity planning, and monitoring all come from CyNtell, so nothing falls between vendors and every finding feeds the same program.
02
In-house CySOC monitoring
Monitoring is staffed by CyNtell's own analysts, not white-labeled through a subcontractor, so the team watching your environment already knows what your risk analysis found.
03
Easy to buy for public health
GSA Schedule, SBA 8(a), and HUBZone certifications give public health systems and county or municipal health departments a straightforward way to buy through a federal or cooperative vehicle.
Healthcare and HIPAA compliance: frequently asked questions
Don't see your question here? Our team can walk through your situation on a short scoping call.
Talk to our teamWhat's the difference between a HIPAA gap assessment and a security risk analysis?
A security risk analysis identifies and rates specific threats and vulnerabilities to ePHI. A gap assessment checks your controls against every Security Rule standard and specification. CyNtell typically runs both together, since the risk analysis is one required input to a complete gap assessment.
How often should a healthcare organization run a HIPAA risk analysis?
At least annually, and again after any significant change, such as a new EHR system, a new business associate, a merger, or a security incident. OCR treats a stale or one-time risk analysis the same as having none.
Do small practices need the same risk analysis as a hospital?
Every covered entity and business associate needs one, regardless of size. HIPAA lets the analysis scale to your organization's size, complexity, and technical infrastructure, so a small practice's review is narrower in scope, but it still has to cover every system that holds ePHI and be documented.
Do business associates need to comply with HIPAA too?
Yes. Any vendor that creates, receives, maintains, or transmits ePHI on behalf of a covered entity is directly liable under the HIPAA Security Rule, independent of what the business associate agreement says.
Is the HIPAA Security Rule about to change?
HHS has proposed an update that would make ePHI encryption, multi-factor authentication, a reviewed technology asset inventory, twice-yearly vulnerability scans, and annual penetration testing mandatory rather than addressable. It remains a proposed rule, with a final version targeted for July 2027. CyNtell scopes engagements so a program built today already satisfies most of what's proposed.
Is HIPAA included in CyNtell's broader gap assessment service?
Yes. HIPAA is one of the frameworks covered by CyNtell's multi-framework gap assessment. This page covers the healthcare-specific engagement: risk analysis, gap assessment, and ongoing program management built around ePHI and Security Rule obligations.
Get ahead of your next HIPAA risk analysis
CyNtell scopes a HIPAA risk analysis and gap assessment for your organization, with no obligation to proceed.