{"id":852,"date":"2026-08-17T05:40:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T05:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osto.one\/resources\/?p=852"},"modified":"2026-08-17T05:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T05:40:08","slug":"physical-safeguards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.osto.one\/resources\/glossary\/physical-safeguards\/","title":{"rendered":"Physical Safeguards: Beyond the Data Centre"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- =========================================================================\n     OSTO GLOSSARY: PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS\n     Shared glossary design system. Paste into one Custom HTML block. 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.pill{display:inline-block;font-size:11px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.8px;text-transform:uppercase;padding:5px 11px;border-radius:20px;white-space:nowrap}\n.og .p-req{background:var(--plum-200);color:#4d2f57}\n.og .p-exp{background:var(--sky-100);color:var(--sky-700)}\n.og .p-imp{background:#eef0f4;color:var(--muted)}\n.og .p-ask{background:var(--apri-100);color:var(--apri-700)}\n\n.og details{background:var(--white);border-radius:14px;margin:0 0 10px;box-shadow:0 2px 10px rgba(15,21,56,.04)}\n.og summary{cursor:pointer;padding:16px 20px;font-weight:600;font-size:17px;color:var(--navy);list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;gap:16px;align-items:flex-start}\n.og summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}\n.og summary::after{content:\"+\";font-size:22px;line-height:1;color:var(--peri-700);flex:0 0 auto}\n.og details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}\n.og details p{padding:0 20px 18px;margin:0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7}\n\n.og .related{font-size:15px;color:var(--muted);border-top:1px solid var(--divider);padding-top:22px;margin-top:40px}\n\n@media(max-width:700px){\n  .og{font-size:16px}\n  .og .dek{font-size:18px}\n  .og .short p{font-size:17px}\n  .og .short,.og .toc,.og .callout{padding:22px 20px}\n  .og .toc ol{columns:1}\n  .og .trio{grid-template-columns:1fr}\n  .og .swipe{display:inline;font-weight:600;color:var(--peri-700)}\n  .og table{font-size:14px}\n  .og th,.og td{padding:11px 12px}\n}\n<\/style>\n\n<div class=\"og\">\n\n<p class=\"dek\">Physical safeguards are the HIPAA Security Rule controls over buildings, workstations and hardware. Cloud hosting changes who performs them, not whether they apply.<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"tags\">\n  <li><span class=\"tag t-peri\">Glossary<\/span><\/li>\n  <li><span class=\"tag t-sage\">HIPAA<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<div class=\"short\">\n  <p class=\"k\">The short answer<\/p>\n  <p>Physical safeguards are the four Security Rule standards covering the physical environment around ePHI: facility access controls, workstation use, workstation security, and device and media controls. They cover who can walk up to a machine, how screens and laptops are handled, and what happens to a disk before it leaves the building.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>The common misconception is that a cloud-native company has no physical safeguards to worry about. The data centre obligations transfer to your provider under a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osto.one\/resources\/glossary\/business-associate-agreement\/\">BAA<\/a>. The laptop in a co-working space remains entirely yours.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"toc\">\n  <p class=\"k\">On this page<\/p>\n  <ol>\n    <li><a href=\"#four\">The four standards<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#cloud\">What the cloud does and does not cover<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#remote\">Remote and hybrid teams<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#disposal\">Device and media disposal<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#osto\">How Osto covers the endpoint side<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#faq\">FAQ<\/a><\/li>\n  <\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 id=\"four\">The four standards<\/h2>\n\n<table class=\"h-sage\">\n  <thead>\n    <tr><th>Standard<\/th><th>Covers<\/th><\/tr>\n  <\/thead>\n  <tbody>\n    <tr><td><strong>Facility access controls<\/strong><\/td><td>Contingency operations, a facility security plan, access control and validation, maintenance records. All addressable<\/td><\/tr>\n    <tr><td><strong>Workstation use<\/strong><\/td><td>Policies on what may be done at a workstation with ePHI access, and in what physical surroundings. Required<\/td><\/tr>\n    <tr><td><strong>Workstation security<\/strong><\/td><td>Physical controls restricting who can reach a workstation. Required<\/td><\/tr>\n    <tr><td><strong>Device and media controls<\/strong><\/td><td>Disposal and media re-use are required; accountability tracking and data backup before a move are addressable<\/td><\/tr>\n  <\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<h2 id=\"cloud\" class=\"c-sage\">What the cloud does and does not cover<\/h2>\n\n<figure>\n<div class=\"sx\">\n<svg viewBox=\"0 0 760 230\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"The cloud provider covers data centre physical security; the customer covers laptops, offices and disposal of their own devices.\">\n  <rect x=\"12\" y=\"36\" width=\"356\" height=\"152\" rx=\"18\" fill=\"#e3f0e9\"\/>\n  <text x=\"190\" y=\"66\" text-anchor=\"middle\" font-family=\"Inter,sans-serif\" font-size=\"13.5\" font-weight=\"700\" fill=\"#3a6f5d\">Your cloud provider<\/text>\n  <rect x=\"36\" y=\"82\" width=\"308\" height=\"28\" rx=\"8\" fill=\"#ffffff\"\/>\n  <text x=\"190\" y=\"101\" text-anchor=\"middle\" font-family=\"Inter,sans-serif\" font-size=\"11.5\" fill=\"#0f1538\">Data centre access control and guards<\/text>\n  <rect x=\"36\" y=\"116\" width=\"308\" height=\"28\" rx=\"8\" fill=\"#ffffff\"\/>\n  <text x=\"190\" y=\"135\" text-anchor=\"middle\" font-family=\"Inter,sans-serif\" font-size=\"11.5\" fill=\"#0f1538\">Server hardware and disk destruction<\/text>\n  <rect x=\"36\" y=\"150\" width=\"308\" height=\"28\" rx=\"8\" fill=\"#ffffff\"\/>\n  <text x=\"190\" y=\"169\" text-anchor=\"middle\" font-family=\"Inter,sans-serif\" font-size=\"11.5\" fill=\"#0f1538\">Environmental and power protection<\/text>\n\n  <rect x=\"392\" y=\"36\" width=\"356\" height=\"152\" rx=\"18\" fill=\"#e9ecfa\"\/>\n  <text x=\"570\" y=\"66\" text-anchor=\"middle\" font-family=\"Inter,sans-serif\" font-size=\"13.5\" font-weight=\"700\" fill=\"#4a52a8\">Still yours<\/text>\n  <rect x=\"416\" y=\"82\" width=\"308\" height=\"28\" rx=\"8\" fill=\"#ffffff\"\/>\n  <text x=\"570\" y=\"101\" text-anchor=\"middle\" font-family=\"Inter,sans-serif\" font-size=\"11.5\" fill=\"#0f1538\">Laptops, phones and portable drives<\/text>\n  <rect x=\"416\" y=\"116\" width=\"308\" height=\"28\" rx=\"8\" fill=\"#ffffff\"\/>\n  <text x=\"570\" y=\"135\" text-anchor=\"middle\" font-family=\"Inter,sans-serif\" font-size=\"11.5\" fill=\"#0f1538\">Offices, desks and screen visibility<\/text>\n  <rect x=\"416\" y=\"150\" width=\"308\" height=\"28\" rx=\"8\" fill=\"#1c267a\"\/>\n  <text x=\"570\" y=\"169\" text-anchor=\"middle\" font-family=\"Inter,sans-serif\" font-size=\"11.5\" font-weight=\"600\" fill=\"#ffffff\">Wiping a device before it is resold<\/text>\n\n  <text x=\"380\" y=\"214\" text-anchor=\"middle\" font-family=\"Inter,sans-serif\" font-size=\"12\" fill=\"#0f1538\">Your provider is a business associate. Their controls need a BAA, not an assumption.<\/text>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<figcaption><span class=\"swipe\">Swipe to see the full diagram. <\/span>Outsourcing the data centre does not outsource the standard.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n<h2 id=\"remote\" class=\"c-apri\">Remote and hybrid teams<\/h2>\n\n<p>Workstation use and workstation security were written with clinic desktops in mind. Applied to a distributed engineering team they translate into a small set of practical rules.<\/p>\n\n<table class=\"h-peri\">\n  <thead>\n    <tr><th>Requirement<\/th><th>What it looks like remotely<\/th><\/tr>\n  <\/thead>\n  <tbody>\n    <tr><td>Restrict physical access to workstations<\/td><td>Full-disk encryption, automatic screen lock, no shared home machines<\/td><\/tr>\n    <tr><td>Control the surroundings ePHI is viewed in<\/td><td>Policy on working in public spaces, privacy screens where relevant<\/td><\/tr>\n    <tr><td>Know which devices hold ePHI<\/td><td>A device inventory that is current, not a spreadsheet from last year<\/td><\/tr>\n    <tr><td>Control removable media<\/td><td>USB storage blocked or governed by policy and logged<\/td><\/tr>\n  <\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<div class=\"callout\">\n  <p class=\"k\">Lost laptops still drive breach reports<\/p>\n  <p>A missing encrypted laptop is usually not a reportable breach. A missing unencrypted one usually is. That single control is the difference between an asset loss and a notification exercise under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osto.one\/resources\/glossary\/hipaa-breach-notification-rule\/\">Breach Notification Rule<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 id=\"disposal\" class=\"c-plum\">Device and media disposal<\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"trio\">\n  <div class=\"tcard a\">\n    <p class=\"n\">Disposal<\/p>\n    <p>Required. Final disposition of ePHI and the hardware it lived on, documented.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"tcard b\">\n    <p class=\"n\">Media re-use<\/p>\n    <p>Required. ePHI removed before hardware is reassigned or resold.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"tcard c\">\n    <p class=\"n\">Accountability<\/p>\n    <p>Addressable. A record of hardware movements and who is responsible for each device.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 id=\"osto\">How Osto covers the endpoint side<\/h2>\n\n<p>The physical safeguards you cannot delegate are the ones sitting on employee devices. Osto&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osto.one\/resources\/glossary\/mdm\/\">endpoint and device control<\/a> maintains the inventory, enforces encryption and screen lock, governs removable media, and supports remote wipe when a device is lost or an employee leaves. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osto.one\/resources\/glossary\/dlp\/\">File access DLP<\/a> limits what can be copied off in the first place, and evidence maps to the HIPAA safeguards in the compliance platform.<\/p>\n\n<!-- ============ CTA ============ -->\n<div style=\"background:linear-gradient(135deg,#1c267a 0%,#3f4796 48%,#6b4576 100%);border-radius:22px;padding:38px 34px;margin:40px 0 12px;box-shadow:0 10px 26px rgba(28,38,122,.2);text-align:center;\">\n  <p style=\"display:inline-block;background:rgba(255,255,255,.16);color:#ffffff;font-family:'Inter',-apple-system,sans-serif;font-size:11px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:1.2px;text-transform:uppercase;padding:6px 14px;border-radius:20px;margin:0 0 16px;\">Free security assessment<\/p>\n  <p style=\"color:#ffffff;font-family:'Inter',-apple-system,sans-serif;font-size:26px;line-height:1.3;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:-.4px;margin:0 0 12px;\">The safeguards your cloud provider cannot cover<\/p>\n  <p style=\"color:#cfd3ea;font-family:'Inter',-apple-system,sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.65;margin:0 auto 26px;max-width:520px;\">Device inventory, encryption enforcement, removable media control and remote wipe on the endpoints you actually own.<\/p>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/osto.one\/contact\/\" style=\"display:inline-block;background:#ffffff;color:#1c267a;font-family:&#039;Inter&#039;,-apple-system,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:none;padding:14px 30px;border-radius:12px;margin:0 6px 10px;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color:#1c267a;\">Get a free security assessment<\/span><\/a>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/osto.one\/book-demo\/\" style=\"display:inline-block;background:transparent;color:#ffffff;font-family:&#039;Inter&#039;,-apple-system,sans-serif;font-weight:600;font-size:16px;text-decoration:none;border:1.5px solid rgba(255,255,255,.5);border-radius:12px;padding:13px 28px;margin:0 6px 10px;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color:#ffffff;\">Book a platform walkthrough<\/span><\/a>\n  <p style=\"color:#b3b8d8;font-family:'Inter',-apple-system,sans-serif;font-size:13px;margin:14px 0 0;\">macOS agent &middot; Device control and DLP &middot; One platform, everything<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n<details>\n  <summary>What are physical safeguards under HIPAA?<\/summary>\n  <p>The four Security Rule standards covering the physical environment around ePHI: facility access controls, workstation use, workstation security, and device and media controls.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n<details>\n  <summary>Do physical safeguards apply to cloud-only companies?<\/summary>\n  <p>Yes. Data centre obligations shift to the cloud provider as a business associate under a BAA, but workstation policy, device inventory, removable media and disposal remain yours.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n<details>\n  <summary>How do physical safeguards work for remote teams?<\/summary>\n  <p>Through device controls rather than building controls: full-disk encryption, automatic lock, current inventory, restrictions on removable media, and a policy on where ePHI may be viewed.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n<details>\n  <summary>What does the disposal requirement cover?<\/summary>\n  <p>Documented final disposition of ePHI and the hardware holding it. Wiping a laptop before resale and secure destruction of failed drives both fall under it, and both are required rather than addressable.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n<details>\n  <summary>Is a device inventory required?<\/summary>\n  <p>Accountability tracking is addressable, so a formal inventory is not strictly mandatory. In practice you cannot demonstrate the required disposal and re-use controls without knowing which devices exist.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n<p class=\"related\"><strong>Related glossary terms:<\/strong> HIPAA Security Rule &middot; Administrative Safeguards &middot; Technical Safeguards &middot; MDM &middot; DLP &middot; ePHI<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Physical safeguards are the HIPAA Security Rule controls over buildings, workstations and hardware. 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