Liquid Web HIPAA Compliant Hosting Detailed Review

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This Liquid Web HIPAA-compliant hosting review covers the general landscape of HIPAA, the need for HIPAA-compliant hosting solutions, and why Liquid Web is the best HIPAA-compliant hosting company.

First, let’s talk about what HIPAA is and why it matters.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) regulates legal disclosure and governs protected health information (PHI) use. 

PHI includes a wide range of information about patients’ medical records, Social Security numbers (SSN), financial information, addresses, phone numbers, and pictures.

With the growing digitization of health care, protections have been implemented governing how protected health information is stored, transmitted, and accessed electronically (ePHI). 

In response to technological advancements in healthcare, a new section has been added to HIPAA, known as the HIPAA Security Rule.

All the covered entities must protect individuals’ electronic personal health information to comply with the HIPAA Security Rule. 

It requires the implementation of the correct administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to assure the security, confidentiality (data privacy), and integrity of ePHI.

Who Must Comply with HIPAA?

Healthcare providers, health insurance companies, and other entities that collect, transmit, or create ePHI must comply with HIPAA requirements.

Additionally, business associates, including I.T. providers, consultants, cloud storage providers, and anyone interacting with PHI or ePHI, must understand HIPAA compliance and adhere to it.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for setting up and governing HIPAA regulations, and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces compliance. 

Non-compliant organizations may face heavy fines, depending on the type of violation they commit.

Need for HIPAA Compliant Hosting

Organizations and individuals in the healthcare industry wanting to develop web applications and offer online services involving protected health information must comply with HIPAA regulations. 

In such cases, HIPAA-compliant hosting services are the best option for storing PHI and ePHI.

A HIPAA-compliant hosting company maintains strict security procedures, encrypts personal information, and implements robust risk management policies at the server level to protect and secure health data for its clients. 

By adopting such reliable infrastructure and data protection measures, HIPAA-compliant hosting can handle health data more safely than standard web hosting.

At present, several companies provide HIPAA-compliant hosting services. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for the best, look no further than Liquid Web.

The below section represents the comprehensive Liquid Web HIPAA-compliant hosting review, including its security features, pricing information, and pros and cons.

Liquid Web HIPAA Compliant Hosting Review

HIPAA compliance is often a challenging task. The hosting company must strictly follow regulatory requirements to achieve HIPAA compliance. Below are the major HIPAA hosting requirements:

• Privately hosted and highly-secured server environment
• High availability network and power infrastructure
• Fully managed servers
• Multifactor authentication  
• SSL certificates and Firewall 
• Offsite backups 
• Encrypted VPN 
• SSAE 18 certification (SOC 2) 
• HIPAA Audited 
• Business associate agreement (BAA)

Liquid Web provides all these features as part of its HIPAA-compliant hosting solutions. 

Let’s take a closer look at Liquid Web’s HIPAA-compliant hosting in detail.

Top Liquid Web HIPAA-compliant Hosting Features

The company offers various advanced features to assist healthcare providers in complying with HIPAA regulations.

The features include wholly owned and managed core data centers, high network & power availability, enhanced security, the Business Associate Agreement (BAA), and on-site support available 24/7/365.

Below I have explained the key features of Liquid Web’s HIPAA-compliant hosting service, making it the ideal solution for hosting PHI and sensitive data.

1. Data Center Physical System Security

Liquid Web has privately owned and operated global data centers at disaster-neutral geographic locations to minimize the risk of damages due to external factors.

In addition, the 24/7/365 staffed facilities, CCTV surveillance, mantraps, and interlocking doors for exterior entrance security, and Electronic Perimeter Access Card System for site entrances protect against losses and theft.

Office spaces are separate from the data center spaces, and Advanced Proximity Credentials are required to access the data center server racks. Furthermore, all Liquid Web employees receive a full background check to prevent intentional or accidental data breaches.

The Liquid Web data centers are NFPA 13 compliant and have advanced fire prevention infrastructure in places, such as dry pipe preaction (sprinkler system) and double interlock system.

The facilities assure high power availability through various methods, including direct feed, multiple MPS generators, and multiple UPS systems with a minimum 30-minute runtime.

Lastly, the company’s SSAE-16 and Safe Harbor Compliance guarantee that your sensitive health information will remain secure and confidential.

2. Backup Management

Liquid Web provides Acronis Cyber Backup, a fully managed, highly reliable backup solution designed exclusively for Windows and Linux managed-dedicated servers. 

It is a fully customizable backup and recovery program that captures your entire system configuration or specific files. It stores them on an external storage system or in the Acronis cloud. 

In the case of catastrophic failure, you can recover anything from single files to your exact server configuration with just a few clicks. 

With the partnership between Liquid Web and Acronis, every client can access the Acronis interface for complete control over backup management tools. They can change anything, set up backup schedules, start the recovery process, or view the available backups.

Liquid Web ensures unparalleled uptime and protects against data loss in even the most extreme circumstances by combining the Acronis Cyber Backup solution with its secure data centers.

In addition to the features already mentioned, Liquid Web offers the following.

• Sector-level hard disk volume access for or the ultimate in performance and recovery
• Continuous backups, even on busy servers
• Incremental system-wide snapshots
• Faster bare-metal disaster recovery 
• cPanel and MySQL database plugins
• Data encryption for enhanced security and to meet compliance requirements.

3. Network Configuration and Technical Security

In addition to the physical system security, Liquid Web provides solid network configuration and technical security for HIPAA-compliant servers.

The next-generation Cisco firewall hardware with complete management is available for Liquid Web’s HIPAA-compliant hosting service.

The company assists with hardware-level firewall configuration. Other key features include outbound and inbound traffic filtering, intrusion detection & prevention modules, a dedicated Meet-Me Room (MMR), and diverse connectivity fiber paths.

Liquid Web has failover redundancy in case of network failure. In addition, the company has deployed various measures, such as bandwidth co-op solutions, carrier neutrality, and on-net data transport, to most major global cities to ensure uninterrupted service.

4. Remote VPN Access

Liquid Web offers remote secure VPN implementation and management with its HIPAA-compliant hosting services.

The system combines advanced encryption (Triple DES or AES) and authentication techniques (Site-to-Site VPN Tunnels) with secure passwords, pre-shared keys, and certificates.

In addition, the Liquid Web network support team can assist you with DMZ setup, log management, and monitoring.

In this way, remote VPN mitigates the risk of hacking and malware by providing secure remote access for partnering businesses.

5. ServerSecurePLUS™ Advanced Security Suite

Liquid Web offers an innovative security solution for its dedicated servers called ServerSecurePLUS™. 

It ensures maximum compatibility and the best-in-class server performance. 

Opting for the ServerSecurePLUS™ subscription will provide an extensive set of security features, such as daily malware scans, Brute Force Detection and Evasion, Apache DOS Prevention/Protection, E-Mail Virus Filtering, and various other server-hardening features. 

Additionally, you have exclusive access to the following features when you upgrade to ServerSecurePLUS™.

• Monthly Nessus® vulnerability scans
• DDOS attack protection and mitigation
• Turnkey solutions to stop security threats
• The prevention of illegitimate Botnet Communications
• Real-time security intelligence
• Volumetric attacks mitigation
• Illegitimate traffic blocking to reduce bandwidth costs

In most cases, setting up the security for a HIPAA-compliant server requires hours of installation work and assistance from an external system administrator. 

However, you can achieve the same level of protection with the help of ServerSecurePLUS™.

This feature alone is worth thousands of dollars if you want to store and process PHI in compliance with HIPAA.

Please visit this page to learn more about ServerSecurePLUS™. 

Liquid Web HIPAA Compliant Hosting Pricing

The company allows you to purchase a pre-configured HIPAA hosting package or work with its HIPAA specialists to build a custom solution according to your requirements.

You can choose Linux or Windows HIPAA solutions depending on the type of software you plan to run.

Below is a brief overview of Liquid Web’s pre-configured HIPAA-compliant hosting pricing packages.

Liquid Web Linux HIPAA Solutions Pricing

1. Standalone HIPAA Server

Key Features:

• Dedicated Linux server
• Suitable for hosting HIPAA websites, applications, or databases
• Fully managed servers with 24/7/365 human support
• Off-server Acronis Cyber Backups and Threat Stack, a fully managed intrusion detection system

Price: Starting at $229 with default server configurations

2. HIPAA Server & Firewall Package

Key Features:

• Dedicated Linux server
• Hardware Firewall and fully managed VPN with Cisco license upgrade and private switch options
• Perfect for hosting your HIPAA website, application, or database and securely transferring your ePHI over an encrypted connection
• Fully managed servers with 24/7/365 human support
• Off-server Acronis Cyber Backups and Threat Stack, a fully managed intrusion detection system

Price: Starting at $428 with default server configurations

3. HIPAA Multi-Server Package

Key Features:

• Dedicated Linux server(s)
• Custom HIPAA hosting solutions tailored to your specific requirements
• Fully managed servers with 24/7/365 professional human support
• Off-server Acronis Cyber Backups and Threat Stack, a fully managed intrusion detection system

Price: Starting at $657 with default server configurations

If you require more resources or higher-end features, you can add them anytime.

Liquid Web Windows HIPAA Solutions Pricing

1. Standalone HIPAA Server

Key Features:

• Dedicated Windows server
• Suitable for hosting HIPAA websites, applications, or databases
• Fully managed servers with 24/7/365 human support
• Off-server Acronis Cyber Backups and Threat Stack, a fully managed intrusion detection system

Price: Starting at $272 with default server configurations

2. HIPAA Server & Firewall Package

Key Features:

• Dedicated Windows server
• Hardware Firewall and fully managed VPN with Cisco license upgrade and private switch options
• Perfect for hosting your HIPAA website, application, or database and securely transferring your ePHI over an encrypted connection
• Fully managed servers with 24/7/365 human support
• Off-server Acronis Cyber Backups and Threat Stack, a fully managed intrusion detection system

Price: Starting at $471 with default server configurations

3. HIPAA Multi-Server Package

Key Features:

• Dedicated Windows server(s)
• Custom HIPAA hosting solutions tailored to your specific requirements
• Fully managed servers with 24/7/365 professional human support
• Off-server Acronis Cyber Backups and Threat Stack, a fully managed intrusion detection system

Price: Starting at $743 with default server configurations

Pros and Cons of Liquid Web HIPAA-compliant Hosting Solutions

In case you wish to purchase Liquid Web HIPAA-compliant Hosting Solutions, please review the pros and cons below. 

Pros of Liquid Web HIPAA-Compliant Hosting

1. Security and Compliance: Liquid Web adheres to all HIPAA regulations, providing a safe, reliable hosting environment for your PHI or other sensitive data. The service is SSAE-16 and Safe Harbor Compliant. In addition, off-server Acronis Cyber Backups and Threat Stack, a fully managed intrusion detection system, reinforce already fortified Liquid Web infrastructure.

2. High Performance: You can trust Liquid Web to provide fast and reliable hosting for your HIPPA website or application. Fully managed dedicated servers and ultra-fast gigabit network connectivity ensure you never face any performance issues.

3. Best-in-class Support: Liquid Web offers 24/7/365 support from a team of experts knowledgeable about HIPAA regulations and can help you implement any requirements needed to keep your system secure.

4. Scalability: Liquid Web allows you to quickly scale your hosting needs as your business grows, providing a cost-effective solution for larger organizations.

Cons of Liquid Web HIPAA-Compliant Hosting

1. Expensive: Liquid Web’s HIPAA-compliant hosting services are pretty expensive compared to other products. Enhanced security, compliance, and license requirements add up to an increased cost.

2. Complexity: Maintaining HIPAA compliance requires significant technical knowledge and may be challenging for novices.

3. Limited customization: Liquid Web’s hosting solution is designed to meet strict security requirements, which may limit customization options.

Liquid Web HIPAA Compliant Hosting Review: Summary

Liquid Web is the name you can trust for securely hosting and sharing protected health information.

Your most sensitive data remains private and secure with Liquid Web’s HIPAA-compliant hosting solutions.

The company has deployed cutting-edge cloud solutions to protect healthcare data while providing unparalleled performance and reliability.

In addition, Liquid Web experts are available 24/7/365 to provide fast, friendly support so you can rest assured that your website and sensitive healthcare data are safe.

So try Liquid Web the next time you need a HIPAA-compliant hosting service.