Drug production is a highly difficult enterprise that requires expert knowledge and long time horizons to achieve. It requires pharmaceutical companies to juggle various critical facets, such as complying with regulations, safeguarding research data, and protecting patient records while implementing the core aspects of comprehensive clinical research.
Therefore, pharmaceutical data security is vital to protect the safety and efficacy of drugs that patients rely on for their well-being and quality of life.
In this article, you’ll discover the types of sensitive data in the pharmaceutical industry, including patient records, clinical trial data, and regulatory compliance information.
What Types of Data are Considered Sensitive in the Pharmaceutical Industry?
The pharmaceutical industry must safeguard critical data types, focusing on mechanisms that protect patients' privacy, comply with regulations, and maintain the organization's competitiveness and reputation while avoiding potential legal penalties.
In the pharmaceutical industry, the following types of data are often considered sensitive:
Patient Data
This includes personal identifiers, health records, genetic data, and information about an individual's physical, mental, or behavioral health. It's often collected during clinical trials or treatment administration.
Patient data typically constitutes Protected Health Information (PHI) and encompasses a wide range of sensitive data that pertains to an individual's past, present, or future health status. This includes explicit identifiers such as names, social security numbers, addresses, and phone numbers, as well as medical records detailing diagnoses, treatments, medications, and surgical procedures.
PHI also covers genetic information obtained through testing or family history, which can reveal predispositions to certain diseases or conditions. Mental and behavioral health data, including psychological evaluations, therapy notes, and substance abuse treatment records, also fall under this umbrella.
Therefore, safeguarding PHI is paramount, as its unauthorized disclosure or misuse can have severe consequences for individuals, including discrimination, stigma, and identity theft.
Clinical Trial Data
Clinical trial data encompasses a broad spectrum of sensitive information, starting with the intricate details of the clinical trial protocol, which outlines the objectives, methodology, and procedures to be followed throughout the trial. It also includes data on patient recruitment and retention, providing insights into the demographics of the participants and the effectiveness of strategies to keep them engaged in the study.
Furthermore, clinical trial data encompasses crucial information about patient outcomes, such as the effects of the treatment on their health condition, quality of life, and any improvements or deteriorations observed. It also includes comprehensive documentation of any adverse events experienced by the patients, which are any unfavorable or unintended medical occurrences that may or may not be directly related to the treatment being studied.
Lastly, clinical trial data incorporates the statistical data derived from the trial, which involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting numerical data to draw conclusions about the safety and efficacy of the treatment under investigation.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property in the pharmaceutical industry encompasses a wide range of confidential and proprietary information, including:
- Lab Results & Clinical Trial Data: This includes data on the efficacy and safety of new drugs, as well as any adverse reactions.
- Drug Formulas & Compositions: The specific chemical makeup and proportions of ingredients in a drug.
- Manufacturing Processes & Techniques: The detailed steps and procedures involved in producing a drug, including any specialized equipment or technology.
- Research Findings & Data: The results of scientific studies and experiments related to drug development, including preclinical and clinical research.
- Patent Applications & Grants: Documentation and legal filings related to protecting inventions and innovations.
- Proprietary Software & Technology: Specialized software, algorithms, or technological tools developed for drug research, manufacturing, or data analysis.
Protecting this intellectual property is crucial for maintaining a competitive advantage, attracting investment, and ensuring the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products.
Financial Data
Financial data encompasses a wide range of information critical to a company's operation and market valuation. This includes Information relating to sales, investments, revenues, costs, and financial forecasts. Below is a more comprehensive breakdown:
- Sales Data: This includes information about the total revenue generated from the sale of goods or services, as well as details about individual transactions, such as the date of purchase, the products or services sold, the quantity sold, and the price.
- Investment Data: This includes information about the company's investments in other companies, real estate, or other assets, as well as details about the performance of those investments.
- Revenue Data: This includes information about the total revenue generated by the company from all sources, including sales, investments, and other income.
- Cost Data: This includes information about the total costs incurred by the company, including the cost of goods sold, operating expenses, and other expenses.
- Financial Forecast Data: This includes projections of the company's future financial performance, including revenue, costs, and profits.
This information is highly sensitive and can be used by competitors to glean valuable investment insight and thus gain an unfair advantage. Moreover, investors can use unauthorized access to this data to decide to short the company’s stock. Alternatively, criminals can use this information to commit fraud or other financial crimes.
Therefore, it is essential for companies to take steps to safeguard their financial data.
Operational Data
Operational data is information revolving around production that encompasses specifics about manufacturing processes, quality control measures, and batch records. Logistics information includes details about shipping, transportation, and delivery of pharmaceutical products.
Meanwhile, supply chain management data involves information about suppliers, vendors, and the flow of materials and products throughout the supply chain. And finally, inventory data includes specifics about the quantity and location of pharmaceutical products and raw materials.
Regulatory Data
Information submitted to regulatory authorities like the FDA encompasses a wide range of crucial data, including but not limited to the following:
- Safety Reports: These reports detail any adverse events or side effects associated with a drug, ensuring that potential risks are identified and addressed.
- Drug Approval Applications: These applications contain comprehensive data on a drug's efficacy, safety, and manufacturing processes, which regulatory bodies scrutinize before granting approval for market release.
- Quality Control Reports: These reports document the quality control measures implemented during drug manufacturing to ensure that products consistently meet established standards.
- Audit Data: This data provides a record of regulatory inspections and audits conducted to assess a company's compliance with good manufacturing practices and other relevant regulations.
- Clinical Trial Data: This encompasses data collected during clinical trials, including patient demographics, treatment outcomes, and adverse events, which are critical for evaluating a drug's safety and effectiveness.
- Post-Marketing Surveillance Data: This data is collected after a drug is approved and marketed, and it helps monitor the drug's safety and effectiveness in a real-world setting.
- Labeling and Packaging Information: This includes information on a drug's dosage, indications, contraindications, and warnings, which must be accurate and up-to-date to ensure patient safety.
- Pharmacovigilance Data: This data relates to the ongoing monitoring and assessment of a drug's safety profile after it has been approved and marketed.
Regulatory authorities rely on this information to make informed decisions about drug approvals, safety updates, and regulatory actions. Therefore, protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of this data is paramount to safeguarding public health and maintaining trust in the regulatory process.
Employee Data
The personal information of pharmaceutical employees encompasses a wide range of sensitive data that must be meticulously protected, such as the following:
- Personally Identifiable Information (PII): This includes full names, home addresses, contact information (phone numbers, email addresses), and dates of birth.
- Social Security Numbers (SSNs): These are highly sensitive and are frequently targeted by identity thieves.
- Financial Information: This includes bank account numbers, routing numbers, credit card information, salary details, and any other information related to an employee's finances.
- Health and Insurance Information: This includes medical records, health insurance policy numbers, and any other data related to an employee's health and insurance coverage.
- Employment Records: This includes performance reviews, disciplinary actions, and other confidential information related to an employee's work history.
- Emergency Contact Information: This includes the names and contact information of individuals to be contacted in case of an emergency.
- Dependent Information: This includes the names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers of an employee's dependents.
- Background Check Information: This includes criminal history, credit reports, and other sensitive information gathered during the hiring process.
The Primary Security Risks For Pharmaceutical Data
To mitigate data security risks, pharmaceutical companies should implement robust security measures, such as regular security audits, employee training, strong access controls, encryption, secure backups, and incident response plans.
Here is a list of the comprehensive data security risks pharmaceutical companies face:
- Cyberattacks: Pharmaceutical companies are prime targets for attackers due to their valuable intellectual property. These attacks can take various forms, such as ransomware, DDoS attacks, and phishing schemes.
- Insider threats: Employees can pose a significant security risk, whether due to malicious intent or negligence. They might unintentionally compromise data by mishandling, deliberately stealing, or misusing it.
- Third-party and supply chain risks: Pharmaceutical companies often share sensitive data with third-party vendors, making them a potential weak point in data security.
- Data leakage: Unintended or accidental data breaches can occur due to insecure database configurations, unsecured networks, or lax security protocols.
- Cloud security: As many companies shift to cloud-based systems, data stored in the cloud can be accessed if not adequately secured.
- IoT Devices: With the increasing number of connected devices in use within healthcare and pharmaceuticals, each device represents a potential point of vulnerability for attacks.
- Poorly managed data: Without proper data governance policies and practices, sensitive data may be exposed or misused.
- Compliance risks: Non-compliance with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA can lead to data breaches and hefty penalties.
- Lack of staff training: Employees unaware of correct security protocols are more likely to fall prey to phishing attacks or leave data vulnerable.
- Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs): These are sophisticated, continuous attacks that aim to steal data over an extended period.
How Encryption and Tokenization Protect Pharmaceutical Data
Encryption and tokenization are two critical methods to protect pharmaceutical data:
1. Encryption
This process converts the original data into an unreadable format (ciphertext) to prevent unauthorized access. This method is commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry to protect sensitive data such as intellectual property (IP), clinical trial information, and patient data.
The data can be decrypted and returned to its original form using a specific key. For instance, when transmitting sensitive clinical trial data over the internet, encryption ensures the data remains safe even if intercepted by hackers.
2. Tokenization
Tokenization replaces sensitive data with unique identification symbols, or tokens, that do not carry any intrinsic or exploitable value. The original data is securely stored in a database, while a token replaces it for processing or transmission.
This technique is mainly used to protect payment card information, but its application in the pharmaceutical sector could include the protection of sensitive patient information or proprietary data. For instance, a patient's social security number could be tokenized to protect it from potential hackers, helping pharmaceutical entities stay HIPAA compliant.
Both methods help reduce the risk of data exposure should there be a data breach. They also ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data, making it difficult for unauthorized individuals to misuse sensitive pharmaceutical data.
The Regulatory Requirements For Pharmaceutical Data Security
Pharmaceutical companies must comply with numerous regional and global regulations to ensure the privacy and security of healthcare and customer data. Some of the key regulations include:
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): This U.S. regulation requires strict measures to protect patient health information. Organizations must have physical, network, and process security measures to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected health information (PHI).
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): This European Union regulation applies to handling personal data. GDPR requires companies to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens and imposes strict guidelines concerning the consent to use data, data breach notifications, data portability, the right to access, and the right to be forgotten.
- Federal Drug Administration’s (FDA) Data Integrity and Compliance with Drug CGMP: The FDA regulates the pharmaceutical industry's electronic records and electronic signatures (ERES), which are vital for data integrity, through regulations like 21 CFR Part 11.
- EU Annex 11: It provides guidelines for the use of computerized systems in a regulated environment. It lays down rules related to validation, data integrity, security measures, and documentation.
- Data Privacy Laws: Various countries and states have data privacy laws, such as California's California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and India's Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB), which pharmaceutical companies operating under their auspices must adhere to.
- International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH): In particular, guideline E6(R2) on Good Clinical Practice guides the approach to computerized systems used in clinical trials.
- Other Industry Guidelines: Like those from the Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation Scheme (PIC/S) and the World Health Organization (WHO), need to be considered to ensure data security in pharmaceutical companies.
These regulations necessitate comprehensive data protection measures, regular reviews, staff training, and adequate documentation. Non-compliance can lead to heavy financial penalties and reputational damage.
The Best Practices and Tools For Securing Clinical Trials and Patient Data
Securing clinical trial and patient data is critical to maintaining trust and upholding stringent privacy and compliance regulations. Here are some best practices to consider:
Ideal Approaches For Safeguarding Pharmaceutical Data
Utilizing Data Protection Software: Implementing software solutions that will proactively protect sensitive data throughout its life cycle is paramount. These solutions could include data loss prevention (DLP), data classification, and encryption tools, along with cloud security software like CASB, DSPM, SWG, and more.
Use of Secure-By-Design Systems: Employ systems with robust built-in security features. A Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS) with strong security measures can keep patient data secure.
Access Controls: Limit access to patient data to only those who need it. Implement strong authentication measures such as unique IDs, strong passwords, and multi-factor authentication.
Regular Audits: Regularly audit your systems and procedures for any potential vulnerabilities and take corrective measures if any are found.
Anonymization: De-identify patient data wherever possible to reduce the chances of misusing sensitive patient data.
Regular Data Backups: Regularly back up data to prevent loss in case of cyberattacks or physical damage to the data storage devices.
Staff Training: Provide regular training to staff members to educate them on compliance requirements and best practices for data protection.
Vendor Vetting: Thoroughly assess and vet third-party vendors for data security measures before giving them access to any sensitive information.
Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with data protection regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This generally includes ensuring patient consent is obtained before collecting and sharing any patient data. Clearly explain to patients how their data will be used.
Data Minimization: Retain only data that is necessary under any and all circumstances. The less data is stored, the less there is to lose to a bad actor, insider threat, or accidental breach.
Data Breach Response Plan: Have a well-designed and rehearsed data breach response plan. Swift action can mitigate the impact of a data breach.
Keep Software Updated: Regularly update software, applications, and systems to prevent attackers from exploiting out-of-date software.
Use Secure Communication Channels: Ensure encrypted email or secure file transfer protocols are used to transmit sensitive data.
By implementing strong data access controls and constant monitoring, organizations can significantly reduce their vulnerability to data breaches and protect their valuable data assets.
The Tools and Technologies for Pharmaceutical Data Protection
Several tools and technologies are available for pharmaceutical data protection, including:
Antivirus and Anti-malware Software: These tools prevent, detect, and remove malicious software (malware), which can lead to data breaches.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Software: Endpoint DLP software allows businesses to detect potential data breaches and prevent them by monitoring, detecting, and blocking sensitive data while in use, in motion, and at rest.
Data Classification Software: Data classification accurately labels sensitive data using content and (ideally) context, which facilitates more accurate and effective security policy enforcement and streamlines compliance.
Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): IDS monitors networks for malicious activities or policy violations and alert the system or network administrator about potential breaches.
Backup and Recovery Tools: These tools create copies of data that can be restored in case of a data loss or breach.
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA): ZTNA provides secure remote access to all private applications and protects the data stored within them, serving as a more modern and secure alternative to traditional VPNs.
Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: SIEM systems provide real-time analysis of security alerts for quick detection, analysis, and recovery from security events.
Access Control Systems: These technologies allow organizations to grant or deny access to certain data based on user roles and permissions.
Blockchain: This technology offers a secure, transparent, and tamper-proof environment for storing and sharing data.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: These technologies can predict and identify potential threats and automate response activities.
Remember, these tools are effective only when combined with good security practices like timely patching, regular security audits, and user training.
Fortra Data Classification Delivers Deep Visibility & Data Protection for Pharmaceutical Organizations
When it comes to safeguarding pharmaceutical data, you need a partner with deep expertise and competency in comprehensive data protection.
Fortra Data Classification uses content and context to properly label the wide variety of sensitive health-related data being created, moved, and stored within your organization every day, ensuring proper data security policy enforcement and improving the effectiveness of downstream solutions like DLP.
Schedule a demo today to see our powerful solution in action.
