Description: This blog post will go over website form security particularly in the context of handling sensitive information such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII), complying with regulations like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), and adhering to PCI (Payment Card Industry) standards.
Importance of Website Form Security in Web Development
A website form is a place where users enter data or personal information that’s then sent to a server for processing. This is why it is important to make sure that sensitive information is being handled securely and that a consumer’s information is not getting leaked to the public when creating a website form. Unsecured forms can leave businesses open to legal liabilities and costly lawsuits, and at risk for regulatory noncompliance. Therefore, website form security is extremely important to protect both your own and your customers’ data.
When creating a website, make sure that you are PII, HIPAA, FERPA, and PCI compliant (The 4 basic types of website form security). You might be asking yourself “what exactly are these?” Well, don’t worry. I will explain all these terms to you in this blog post. So let’s get started and learn more about website form security!
PII
PII or Personally Identifiable Information is any data that can be used to identify someone. All information that directly or indirectly links to a person is considered PII. One’s name, email address, phone number, bank account number, and government-issued ID number are all examples of PII. Businesses should care about PII because it’s about preserving customer trust, meeting legal obligations, and upholding ethical standards. Mishandling PII can damage a company’s reputation and result in legal penalties. When creating a web form, make sure to implement this website form security measure to protect identifiable information about customers.
HIPAA
HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act changed how the United States works with health information. For the most part, HIPAA concerns private medical information and keeping it secure. HIPAA compliance in healthcare forms is crucial for protecting sensitive information about patients. The three main ways to make a website HIPAA compliant are to:
a) ensure transmitted health data is encrypted
b) host websites on web servers that adhere to HIPAA compliant rules
c) limiting PHI access only to authorized staff
FERPA
FERPA or Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records. Parents and students should still be able to access student’s information, but the information needs to be protected and private from everyone else. The most common FERPA violations are:
- Releasing information without consent
- Not securing student records properly
- Denying authorized access
- Failing to inform parents of their rights
PCI DSS
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is an information security standard used to handle credit cards from major card brands. The standard is administered by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, and its use is mandated by the card brands. The standards aim to protect sensitive payment data and prevent data breaches.
Here are the 12 major steps you should take to be PCI compliant:
- Implement firewalls to protect data
- Appropriate password protection (such as 2FA)
- Protect cardholder data
- Encryption of transmitted cardholder data
- Utilize antivirus and anti-malware software
- Update software and maintain security systems on a regular basis
- Restrict access to cardholder data
- Unique IDs assigned to those with access to data
- Restrict physical access to data storage
- Create and monitor access logs
- Test security systems on a regular basis
- Create a policy that is documented and that can be followed
Photo by rupixen.com on Unsplash
Conclusion
All in all, these were the 4 basic website form security compliances you should be aware of when creating a website form: PII, HIPAA, FERPA, and PCI. PII protects personal information like state ID; HIPAA protects patient’s health information; FERPA protects student’s education records; and PCI protects financial information like credit cards. Failure to comply with these rules can result in fines, lawsuits, and criminal liability. It can even cost you your whole business so remember to ALWAYS comply with these website form security rules if you need to.
