HIPAA & SOC 2 Cloud Architecture

Our HIPAA-compliant cloud architecture process starts with a security requirements audit: we review your target hospital's vendor security questionnaire (VSQ) and map every requirement to a specific AWS or GCP security control. We then architect the infrastructure using Terraform Infrastructure as Code, ensuring every resource is version-controlled, peer-reviewed, and reproducible. The core architecture includes: (1) VPC isolation with private subnets for application servers and databases, (2) AWS RDS or Cloud SQL with KMS encryption at rest and SSL/TLS in transit, (3) Application Load Balancers with WAF rules to block SQL injection and XSS attacks, (4) IAM roles with least-privilege access and MFA enforcement for all human users, (5) CloudTrail or Cloud Audit Logs capturing every API call, database query, and configuration change, (6) AWS Secrets Manager or GCP Secret Manager for secure credential storage (no hardcoded secrets in code), (7) AWS CloudWatch or GCP Cloud Monitoring with PagerDuty alerts for suspicious access patterns. For SOC 2 compliance, we implement continuous monitoring using tools like Vanta or Drata that automatically collect evidence for access control, encryption, and logging requirements. We also configure automated vulnerability scanning with AWS Inspector or GCP Security Command Center, and we implement automated patching for OS-level dependencies. For production access, we enforce session-based authentication using AWS Systems Manager Session Manager or GCP Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) — no SSH keys, no VPN, no direct database access. Every production action is logged and requires approval via PagerDuty or Slack-based workflows. Once deployed, we perform a third-party penetration test and remediate any findings before your first hospital security review. We provide documentation packages (system security plans, data flow diagrams, encryption specifications) that satisfy both HIPAA Security Rule and SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria. Post-launch, we conduct quarterly security reviews and patch any new vulnerabilities as AWS/GCP release updates.