The public comment period closed on March 7, 2025, with more than 4,000 responses. As healthcare IT teams await the final ruling, now is the time to strengthen endpoint security strategies—not just for compliance, but to ensure operational resilience in an increasingly hostile threat landscape.

HIPAA’s Modernized Security Expectations

The proposed updates reflect the realities of today’s cyber environment and push healthcare providers, payers, and business associates toward more prescriptive security controls, including:

• 72-hour system restoration for impacted ePHI environments
• Mandatory Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
• Data encryption at rest and in transit
• Comprehensive security policy documentation
• Annual asset inventories and network mapping
• Ongoing risk analysis and incident response readiness

How IGEL Helps Healthcare Meet HIPAA Security Requirements

IGEL’s Preventative Security Model (PSM) supports Zero Trust architecture and goes beyond traditional antivirus or EDR approaches. Here’s how IGEL helps organizations stay secure and compliant with the proposed HIPAA Security Rule:

Final Thoughts

The proposed HIPAA Security Rule changes will require healthcare organizations to adopt more proactive, tech-forward endpoint strategies. IGEL’s secure OS and management ecosystem are purpose-built to meet these demands—minimizing cyber risk while optimizing cost and compliance.

Take Action Now
Ready to align your endpoint strategy with HIPAA’s proposed security rules?

Contact IGEL to explore how our solutions can future-proof your compliance, recovery, and security posture—without needing to replace your hardware.

The post Strengthening Cybersecurity in Healthcare appeared first on IGEL.

IGEL Preventative Security Model  & AWS Isolated Recovery Environment

The IGEL Preventative Security Model and AWS Isolated Recovery Environment combined form a multi-layered defense strategy that helps provide security from endpoint to cloud recovery. IGEL PSM ensures that endpoints remain a trusted, compliant, and non-persistent access point for AWS-hosted EHR environments, even in the face of sophisticated cyber threats.

• Read-Only OS: IGEL OS runs in a locked-down state, preventing malware installation, unauthorized software execution, and persistent threats. 

• No Local Data Storage: All data remains centralized within AWS IRE, eliminating the risk of endpoint data exposure due to device loss, theft, or compromise. 

• Trusted Boot Process: IGEL’s chain-of-trust architecture verifies the integrity of every OS component at boot time, ensuring the endpoint has not been tampered with. 

• Secure Application Execution: Only pre-approved applications and virtual workspace connections (ex: Amazon WorkSpaces, AppStream 2.0, or Microsoft Edge) are allowed, reducing potential attack vectors from rogue applications.
  
• Centralized Endpoint Management: IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS) provides real-time policy enforcement, configuration lockdowns, and automated endpoint recovery, ensuring rapid response to security threats or environmental changes. 

 Securing Critical Workloads in the Cloud with AWS Isolated Recovery Environment

AWS IRE is a highly secure, logically separated recovery architecture designed to protect EHR workloads from ransomware, data corruption, and unauthorized access. 

• Logically Separated Data Storage: EHR workloads are stored in logically separated AWS accounts, ensuring isolation from the primary production environment. 

• Immutable Snapshots & Encryption: AWS Backup, AWS Snapshot Manager, and S3 Object Lock provide protected copies of EHR environments, preventing unauthorized modifications. 

• Automated Recovery Orchestration: AWS CloudFormation and AWS Lambda enable rapid, automated environment restoration with minimal manual intervention, reducing downtime during recovery. 

• Advanced Threat Detection & Monitoring: AWS GuardDuty, Security Hub, and IAM policies enforce continuous threat detection, anomaly monitoring, and strict access controls, ensuring only authorized recovery actions occur. 

• Zero Trust Access Control: AWS IRE leverages IAM policies, AWS Organizations, and AWS Control Tower to segment access permissions, restrict lateral movement, and enforce least-privilege principles. 

By combining IGEL’s endpoint security with AWS’s isolated, fully automated recovery environment, EHR customers achieve seamless, policy-driven access to their recovery systems while maintaining compliance with HIPAA, HITRUST, and NIST cybersecurity standards. 

IGEL and AWS IRE Strengthen Electronic Healthcare Record Security

• AWS Solution with Secure Endpoints: IGEL OS is part of a recovery architecture, ensuring secure, policy-driven endpoint access to EHR environments. 

• End-to-End Cyber Resilience: AWS IRE isolates EHR workloads, and IGEL ensures trusted access with a read-only, stateless OS. 
• Zero Trust and Compliance-Ready: Supports organization in meeting HIPAA, HITRUST, and NIST standards, securing healthcare operations from endpoint to cloud recovery. 
• Seamless Recovery Access: IGEL endpoints ensure clinicians and staff can instantly access AWS-hosted EHR environments in a disaster scenario. 

IGEL and AWS are delivering a fully validated, end-to-end IRE solution for EHR customers. By combining IGEL’s secure, policy-enforced endpoints with AWS’s isolated recovery architecture, healthcare organizations can achieve enhanced cyber resilience ensures , secure patient data, and maintain uninterrupted operations. 

Key Takeaways 

• Validated AWS IRE Solution: IGEL endpoints ensure compliant, trusted access to recovered EHR environments. 

• Seamless Disaster Recovery: Rapid failover with pre-configured, policy-enforced IGEL devices. 

• Zero Trust Security: Endpoint-to-cloud protection ensures resiliency against ransomware and cyberattacks. 

Would you like to explore how IGEL OS and AWS Isolated Recovery Environment can support your EHR security strategy?

Contact us today to learn more.

The post Enhance EHR with AWS Isolated Recovery Environment and IGEL appeared first on IGEL.

Why Progressive Web Apps Matter 

PWAs bridge the gap between web and native applications, delivering an app-like experience while remaining lightweight and browser-based. They bring several benefits, including: 

• Offline Support – PWAs can function even when connectivity is limited. 

• Push Notifications & Background Sync – Improves engagement and real-time updates. 

• Cross-Platform Compatibility – Works seamlessly across devices and operating systems. 

• Centralized Deployment – IGEL administrators can deploy PWAs to IGEL OS desktops, allowing users to access them just like any other application, with a seamless launch experience. 

For IGEL OS users, this means another secure and efficient way to access enterprise applications while maintaining IT control and minimizing overhead. 

Expanding Application Delivery: PWAs & Beyond 

PWAs complement the existing application delivery methods IGEL already provides: 

• Virtual Apps & Desktops via DaaS & VDI – With Omnissa, Microsoft AVD/Windows 365, and Citrix, organizations can virtualize applications securely without endpoint dependencies. 

• Enterprise Browsers – IGEL OS natively supports Edge, Firefox, and Island, providing secure, direct access to web applications. 

• IGEL Managed Hypervisor (IMH) – When Windows is required at the endpoint, IMH delivers an immutable, rollback-ready Windows instance for critical environments. 

• Additional PWAs – expanding the number of PWA’s available from the IGEL App Portal now including Microsoft Office apps like Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Copilot, and Google Gmail, centrally managed and deployed for seamless access. 

A Secure Foundation with the Preventative Security Model 

Like all IGEL innovations, PWA support is built on the foundation of the Preventative Security Model (PSM), ensuring: 

• A secure-by-design approach that eliminates attack vectors rather than reacting to them. 

• Integration with IGEL’s security ecosystem, including authentication, encryption, and Zero Trust principles. 

• Simplified management and control—centralizing security and access policies while reducing endpoint complexity. 

A Unified Approach to Secure Application Access 

With expanded PWA support, IGEL OS offers an even broader application access strategy that meets organizations where they are—whether through DaaS, VDI, enterprise browsers, hypervisor-based Windows, or IGEL native apps. By enabling centralized deployment of PWAs, IGEL ensures users experience them just like traditional applications, while IT maintains full control over security, configuration, and access policies. 

Ready to Leverage PWAs on IGEL OS?

If your organization is looking for a modern, secure, and cost-effective way to deploy applications, PWAs on IGEL OS are an excellent option. Combined with our robust ecosystem of application delivery methods, IGEL provides the ultimate flexibility for secure enterprise access. 

Would you like to explore how IGEL OS can support your digital workspace strategy?

View the IGEL PWA demo video

Contact us today to learn more.

View the  Microsoft Teams PWA on IGEL App Portal

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Recently, we demonstrated IGEL OS for healthcare environments in our offices in Augsburg, Germany, in partnership with deviceTRUST, HP, Lenovo, and LG. The purpose of the event was to showcase the importance of future-proofing IT environments to provide the best possible patient care. Our team presented various concepts, technologies, and solutions that can meet the strictest requirements for safety, availability, and cost-effectiveness, which are vital in the healthcare sector.

During the event, we asked attendees about the most critical challenges facing healthcare organizations today. Their responses highlighted the importance of remote work, security, and cost pressure. Attendees emphasized the need for secure end devices and stable systems to support remote work. They also noted that on-site presence is still required for medical care. Furthermore, they stressed the importance of transparent login to ensure user acceptance of security measures, with data security being a top priority. Other important points raised included managing endpoints outside the network, the importance of manageability, and the need for two-factor authentication and biometric tokens for client security.

Ransomware is an ongoing threat

When asked about the specific challenges and opportunities for their organizations in 2024, attendees’ responses included the need for ISO certification and process customization to mitigate risks. Ransomware was identified as an ongoing threat, which in one case is being addressed by implementing LAN segmentation, zero trust mechanisms, and attack detection software. To prevent unauthorized executable files, one organization is restricting users from launching these types of files. The company is also implementing software solutions, such as XDR, training employees/raising awareness on cybersecurity, and deploying thin clients to improve protection.

When explaining the ransomware threat, one attendee who uses Citrix in combination with IGEL OS and Windows 10/11-powered endpoints said: “Our systems are largely protected from attacks and unauthorized access by technical measures such as firewall, proxy, 3-stage filtering of emails with a sandbox for email attachments, MFA, conditional access and administrative measures such as a role-based authorization concept and much more.”

The user is still the weakest link

They continued, “We regularly have penetration tests carried out to uncover security gaps and vulnerabilities, which we can then specifically close. In addition, all user data is secured via a system that technically prevents the backups from being compromised. There is no such thing as 100% security if people have access to the systems – the user is always the weakest link in the security chain. Ultimately, it is a matter of time when it hits us. However, we feel quite well prepared with our security measures.”

Overall, attendees enjoyed the event, with one organization saying, “The lectures were very interesting, and the customer presentations were very good. It was a relaxed environment for the exchange of ideas with manufacturers and customers.”

For more information on how IGEL is helping healthcare organizations achieve better patient outcomes with a simpler and more secure end-user computing approach visit:  https://www.igel.com/customer-stories/healthcare/.

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