Configuring Oracle Database security features and procedures to protect ePHI and satisfy HIPAA Privacy & Security Rules.
Any Oracle instance that stores or processes electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) must prove confidentiality, integrity, and availability.Penalties for non-compliance can reach $1.5 M per violation, making preventive controls essential.
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) secures data at rest, Data Redaction masks result sets, Database Vault enforces least-privilege, Virtual Private Database (VPD) restricts row access, and Unified Auditing captures access events.
Create or migrate tablespaces to TDE with AES-256.Use separate master keys in an external HSM to prevent key exposure on the DB server.
Define application roles, then add VPD policies that return only rows belonging to the acting customer or clinician, preventing incidental disclosure.
HIPAA requires audit trails.Unified Auditing records SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE on ePHI tables and writes to immutable OS files for forensics.
Encrypt RMAN backups, validate restores quarterly, and replicate to another region.Document Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO).
• Force TLS 1.2+ for all network traffic.
• Rotate TDE master keys every 90 days.
• Enable least-privilege roles for DBAs.
• Review audit logs daily and retain 6 years.
• Test incident-response runbooks twice a year.
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Yes. TDE and Data Redaction are licensed features inside Oracle Advanced Security, which simplifies meeting HIPAA’s encryption and masking requirements.
HIPAA mandates a minimum of six years. Keep immutable audit files for the full retention period and test that backups restore correctly.
No. HIPAA expects defense in depth. Even if the app encrypts, the database must still use TDE and logging to detect unauthorized access.