Healthcare Is a Target

Healthcare breaches cost more than any other industry - and they're getting worse.

Healthcare data is worth 10× more on the dark web than financial data. Ransomware groups specifically target clinics and healthcare providers because downtime costs lives - making payment more likely. In Alberta, custodians face mandatory breach reporting to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC), and non-compliance with the Health Information Act (HIA) or the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) can carry significant penalties and reputational harm.

Most healthcare organizations in Calgary are using IT providers who are not equipped to address these specific risks. A general-purpose MSP that also does healthcare IT is not the same as a team that has audited healthcare organizations for government and Fortune 50 clients.

$10×
Healthcare data value vs. financial data on dark web
$9M+
Average healthcare data breach cost (IBM, 2024)
1st
Healthcare: #1 most-targeted sector for ransomware attacks

The Rules That Actually Apply in Alberta

HIA, not HIPAA.

Alberta healthcare privacy is governed provincially. HIPAA is a US law - it only reaches you if you serve US patients, US insurers, or US partners.

Health Information Act (HIA)

If you handle health information in Alberta you are almost certainly a custodian (or an affiliate of one). HIA requires reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, privacy impact assessments (PIAs) submitted to the OIPC before new systems go live, and duty-to-notify on privacy breaches that pose a real risk of significant harm.

PIPA (Alberta)

Alberta's private-sector privacy law covers employee and non-health personal information - HR records, marketing lists, and vendor data - and carries its own consent, safeguard, and breach-notification obligations.

PIPEDA & US HIPAA

PIPEDA applies to commercial cross-border data flows. US HIPAA applies only where you serve US patients, US insurers, or US partner organizations. Where it does apply, the safeguards overlap heavily with HIA, so we assess both together.


Healthcare Clients We Serve

From primary care to pharmacy to health tech.

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Clinics & Medical Practices

Family practices, specialist clinics, and multi-disciplinary health centres. Alberta HIA custodian compliance, EMR security, PIAs, and staff training.

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Pharmacy Groups

Independent and multi-location pharmacies. POS security, patient data protection, Netcare/PIN access hygiene, and SOC 2 readiness for software vendors.

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Primary Care Networks (PCNs)

Alberta PCNs with complex information-sharing agreements and privacy obligations. We have direct experience with several Calgary-area Primary Care Networks.

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Health Technology Companies

Software vendors selling into healthcare. SOC 2 readiness and Alberta/Canadian privacy compliance to close enterprise deals - evidence collection and audit preparation.

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Healthcare-Adjacent Logistics

Supply chain and logistics companies operating in healthcare. Information manager agreements, data security reviews, and compliance mapping.

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Research & Lab Organizations

Academic and clinical research organizations handling sensitive data under federal and provincial privacy rules.


Our Healthcare Solution

End-to-end. Not a compliance checklist.

ThreeShield is the only Calgary cybersecurity firm that combines Lavawall® platform intelligence with hands-on audit expertise and ongoing managed support - specifically for healthcare.

Continuous Monitoring

  • Lavawall® agent on all clinical workstations
  • EMR/EHR client patch monitoring
  • M365 and Exchange breach detection
  • Ransomware indicators and lateral movement alerts
  • Domain exposure and external attack surface monitoring

Compliance & Audit

  • Alberta HIA custodian risk analysis & safeguard review
  • Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) for OIPC submission
  • PIPA and PIPEDA privacy assessments (plus HIPAA if you serve US patients/partners)
  • SOC 2 readiness - controls operationalized and evidence prepared for your CPA firm's audit
  • Annual reviews and ongoing control/evidence maintenance

Managed IT (Calgary)

  • Security-first managed IT for Calgary healthcare organizations
  • Proactive patch management across all clinical systems
  • Email security (DMARC, SPF, DKIM + phishing protection)
  • Backup and disaster recovery with tested restoration
  • On-site and remote support from security-certified staff

Incident Response

  • 24/7 breach detection via Lavawall® monitoring
  • Ransomware containment and recovery
  • HIA/PIPA breach notification guidance (OIPC Alberta)
  • Forensic analysis and evidence preservation
  • Post-incident hardening and compliance restoration

A note on SOC 2: ThreeShield is not a CPA firm and does not issue SOC 2 reports or certifications. A SOC 2 examination and report can only be issued by a licensed CPA firm. What we do is operationalize the controls (with continuous Lavawall® evidence) and get you audit-ready - then work alongside your chosen CPA firm through the examination.


Healthcare Cybersecurity FAQ

Questions healthcare organizations ask us

HIA. Alberta healthcare is governed by the Health Information Act (HIA) together with PIPA - not the US HIPAA statute. HIA makes you a "custodian" of health information and requires reasonable safeguards, privacy impact assessments submitted to the OIPC, and breach notification where there is a real risk of significant harm. US HIPAA only applies if you serve US patients, US insurers, or US partner organizations - and where it does, ThreeShield assesses HIA and HIPAA together because the controls largely overlap.
Our healthcare audit includes: technical vulnerability assessment of all systems touching health information, EMR/EHR security review, network segmentation analysis, access-control review, staff training assessment, policy and procedure gap analysis, physical security review, third-party/affiliate assessment, and compliance mapping to Alberta HIA, PIPA, PIPEDA, and SOC 2 readiness (plus HIPAA where you have US exposure).
The question is whether you can afford not to. A healthcare data breach in Alberta typically costs $200,000-$500,000 in remediation, notification, regulatory response, and reputational damage - before lawsuits. ThreeShield offers right-sized engagements for small clinics, often starting with a focused risk assessment and Lavawall® monitoring that costs far less than one data breach. Contact us for a conversation about what makes sense for your organization's size and risk profile.
Yes - with one important clarification. ThreeShield is not a CPA firm and cannot issue a SOC 2 report; only a licensed CPA firm can perform the examination and issue the report. What we do is the end-to-end readiness work: the Lavawall® platform for continuous evidence collection, guiding your team through operationalizing the controls, and preparing you for the audit - then working alongside your chosen CPA auditor. That means you're not juggling one vendor for the platform, another for guidance, and a third for the audit prep.

Your patients trust you
with their most sensitive data.

Let's make sure that trust is warranted. Book a free 30-minute healthcare security consultation with ThreeShield - no obligation, same or next business day response.