DigiCert Becomes First Public CA to Achieve DirectTrust.org/EHNAC Accreditation; Leads Market Toward Secure, Directed Exchange of Health Information
LEHI, UT – DigiCert, Inc., a leading global authentication and encryption provider, announced that it has achieved full accreditation with the Direct Trusted Agent Accreditation Program (DTAAP) for Certificate Authority (CA) and Registration Authority (RA) services from DirectTrust.org and the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC). DigiCert is the first publicly trusted CA to achieve DTAAP accreditation and the only CA and RA within the DirectTrust trust bundle — a list of trusted providers — that is federally bridged for information exchange with the federal government at multiple assurance levels.
DirectTrust is a non-profit entity working to provide and govern a scalable and standards-based framework that enables secure transfer of electronic health records as prescribed by the Affordable Care Act. DigiCert’s DTAAP inclusion recognizes its role in enabling healthcare entities to comply with industry-established standards, HIPAA regulations and the federal government’s Direct Project. As a founding member of DirectTrust, DigiCert is continuing to provide the expertise and services necessary for healthcare organizations utilizing the Direct Protocol to meet the requirements of multiple stages of Meaningful Use.
“DigiCert is committed to following the highest standards for online authentication and encryption, and we continue to drive the industry toward better practices that make secure health data exchanges more trustworthy,” said DigiCert CEO Nicholas Hales. “We’re pleased to add EHNAC’s certification alongside our WebTrust for CAs and other third-party certifications of the stringent security and privacy standards that we follow.”
“Endorsed by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the Direct Trusted Agent Accreditation Program ensures that organizations like DigiCert establish and uphold a superior level of trust for their stakeholders,” says Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC. “The need in the marketplace for guidance and accountability in health information exchange is undeniable, and we applaud DigiCert’s commitment to the highest standards in privacy, security and confidentiality.”
EHNAC evaluated DigiCert in areas of privacy, security and confidentiality; technical performance; business practices and organizational resources as it relates to Directed exchange participants. In addition, EHNAC reviewed DigiCert’s process of managing and transferring protected health information and determined that the organization meets or exceeds all EHNAC criteria and industry standards. Through completion of the rigorous accreditation process, EHNAC concluded that DigiCert demonstrates to its constituents adherence to strict standards and participation in the comprehensive, objective evaluation of its business.
DigiCert is a leading Certificate Authority and currently the world’s fastest-growing issuer of high-assurance SSL certificates, with a growing client base of more than 70,000 that includes 5 of the U.S. Alexa Top 10. DigiCert serves a wide range of customers in the healthcare, finance, ecommerce, social networking, education, and government sectors in 146 countries. The company plays a key role in advancing online security standards and technologies as a founding/board member of DirectTrust, the CA/Browser Forum, the CA Security Council, and the Online Trust Alliance. DigiCert also actively participates in several other industry associations such as the Anti-Phishing Working Group and the Internet Engineering Task Force.
With increasing numbers of organizations recognizing the need to instill trust in their online users, DigiCert is leading the way with stringent verification procedures for its SSL certificates, including EV SSL, Unified Communications Certificates, and Wildcard SSL Certificates. The company also offers legally binding Document Signing Certificates and DirectAssured™ Certificates for enabling secure, scalable exchange of healthcare information. DigiCert focuses on retaining and training a knowledgeable support staff to achieve among the industry’s fastest issuance times for high-assurance digital certificates.
For more information about how DigiCert supports healthcare organizations with Directed exchange, please visit www.digicert.com.