Azure PHI Exposure Prevention

Learn how to prevent exposure of PHI in Azure environments. Follow step-by-step guidance for HIPAA compliance and data protection.

data exposure

HIPAA

azure

Why It Matters

The core goal is to proactively prevent Protected Health Information (PHI) from being exposed in your Azure environment through misconfigured access controls, inadequate encryption, or improper data handling. Preventing PHI exposure in Azure is essential for organizations subject to HIPAA regulations, as it helps you maintain patient privacy and avoid costly breaches that can result in significant financial penalties and reputational damage.

Primary Risk: Data exposure of sensitive healthcare information

Relevant Regulation: HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

A comprehensive prevention strategy ensures ongoing protection, maintains patient trust, and keeps your organization compliant with healthcare data privacy requirements.

Prerequisites

Permissions & Roles

  • Azure Global Administrator or Security Administrator
  • Owner or Contributor role on Azure subscriptions
  • Microsoft Purview Data Administrator

External Tools

  • Azure CLI or PowerShell
  • Cyera DSPM account
  • Microsoft Purview (optional)

Prior Setup

  • Azure subscription with healthcare workloads
  • Business Associate Agreement (BAA) signed
  • Azure Key Vault configured
  • Network security groups defined

Introducing Cyera

Cyera is a modern Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) platform that discovers, classifies, and continuously monitors your sensitive data across cloud services. Using advanced AI-powered Named Entity Recognition (NER) and machine learning models, Cyera automatically identifies PHI patterns within your Azure environment—including patient names, medical record numbers, diagnosis codes, and treatment information—enabling proactive prevention of data exposure before it occurs.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Configure Azure security baseline

Enable Azure Security Center and configure HIPAA compliance policies. Set up encryption at rest and in transit for all storage accounts and databases containing PHI.

az security auto-provisioning-setting update --name default --auto-provision on

2
Implement role-based access controls

Create custom RBAC roles with least-privilege access to PHI. Configure Conditional Access policies and enable Multi-Factor Authentication for all users accessing healthcare data.

3
Deploy Cyera DSPM monitoring

In the Cyera portal, navigate to Integrations → Cloud Providers → Add Azure. Configure service principal credentials and enable continuous monitoring of PHI across Azure SQL, Storage, and other services.

4
Establish data governance policies

Create automated policies to prevent PHI from being stored in non-compliant locations. Set up alerts for unauthorized access attempts and configure data retention policies according to HIPAA requirements.

Architecture & Workflow

Azure Security Center

Compliance monitoring and policy enforcement

Azure Key Vault

Encryption key management and secrets protection

Cyera DSPM Platform

AI-powered PHI discovery and risk assessment

Azure Monitor

Logging, alerting, and compliance reporting

Prevention Flow Summary

Monitor Data Flow → Classify PHI → Apply Policies → Prevent Exposure

Best Practices & Tips

Encryption & Access

  • Use Azure Disk Encryption for all VMs
  • Enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)
  • Implement Azure Private Link for secure access

Network Security

  • Configure Network Security Groups properly
  • Use Azure Firewall for advanced threat protection
  • Enable DDoS Protection Standard

Common Pitfalls

  • Overlooking temporary storage and cache locations
  • Not encrypting backup data properly
  • Failing to monitor data access patterns

References & Further Reading

Next Steps

🔍 Detect: Identify existing PHI in your Azure environment 🔧 Fix: Remediate discovered PHI exposures