Standards Comparison

    HITRUST CSF

    Voluntary
    2022

    Certifiable framework harmonizing 60+ security standards for industries

    VS

    EU AI Act

    Mandatory
    2024

    EU regulation for risk-based AI safety and governance

    Quick Verdict

    HITRUST CSF delivers certifiable security assurance harmonizing 60+ standards for healthcare and beyond, while EU AI Act mandates risk-based AI governance with conformity assessments for high-risk systems. Organizations adopt HITRUST for trusted compliance reporting; AI Act for legal EU market access.

    Information Security

    HITRUST CSF

    HITRUST Common Security Framework

    Cost
    €€€€
    Complexity
    Medium
    Implementation Time
    12-18 months

    Key Features

    • Harmonizes 60+ standards for assess once, report many
    • Risk-based tailoring via organizational, system, regulatory factors
    • Five-level maturity model from policy to managed
    • MyCSF platform enables scoping, evidence, remediation workflows
    • Inheritance from cloud providers reduces assessment duplication
    Artificial Intelligence

    EU AI Act

    Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 Artificial Intelligence Act

    Cost
    €€€€
    Complexity
    Medium
    Implementation Time
    18-24 months

    Key Features

    • Risk-based classification of AI systems
    • Prohibitions on unacceptable AI practices
    • High-risk conformity assessments and CE marking
    • GPAI systemic risk obligations and evaluations
    • Post-market monitoring and incident reporting

    Detailed Analysis

    A comprehensive look at the specific requirements, scope, and impact of each standard.

    HITRUST CSF Details

    What It Is

    HITRUST Common Security Framework (CSF) is a certifiable, threat-adaptive control framework harmonizing 60+ standards like HIPAA, NIST, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, GDPR. It adopts a risk-based approach with tailored scoping via organizational, system, regulatory factors.

    Key Components

    • 19 assessment domains covering governance, technical controls, resilience.
    • 14 categories, 49 objectives, ~156 specifications with tiered levels.
    • Five-level maturity model (policy, procedure, implemented, measured, managed).
    • e1/i1/r2 certification paths via MyCSF platform and assessors.

    Why Organizations Use It

    • Rationalizes multi-regulatory compliance, reduces audit fatigue.
    • Builds stakeholder trust via validated reports, 99.4% breach-free claim.
    • Enables market access in healthcare, finance; lowers insurance costs.
    • Improves TPRM, operational maturity.

    Implementation Overview

    Multi-phase: scoping in MyCSF, gap analysis, remediation, validated assessment by authorized assessors, continuous monitoring. Suited for regulated industries; requires evidence management, inheritance for cloud. (178 words)

    EU AI Act Details

    What It Is

    The EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) is a comprehensive EU regulation for artificial intelligence, directly applicable across Member States. It ensures safe, transparent, and rights-protecting AI through a risk-based approach, tiering systems as unacceptable (prohibited), high-risk, limited-risk (transparency), or minimal-risk.

    Key Components

    • Prohibitions (Article 5), high-risk obligations (Articles 9-15: risk management, data governance, documentation, oversight, cybersecurity)
    • GPAI model rules (Chapter V), transparency duties (Article 50)
    • Conformity assessments, CE marking, EU database registration Built on product safety frameworks; compliance via self/third-party assessment, harmonized standards.

    Why Organizations Use It

    • Mandatory for EU market access, avoids fines up to 7% global turnover
    • Mitigates risks in high-impact sectors (employment, biometrics)
    • Enhances trust, competitiveness; supports innovation sandboxes

    Implementation Overview

    Phased (6-36 months): inventory/classify AI, build lifecycle compliance, audits. Targets providers/deployers EU-wide; high-risk needs notified bodies.

    Key Differences

    Scope

    HITRUST CSF
    Comprehensive security/privacy controls across 19 domains
    EU AI Act
    Risk-based AI systems lifecycle governance and prohibitions

    Industry

    HITRUST CSF
    Healthcare-focused, industry-agnostic, global adoption
    EU AI Act
    All sectors using AI, EU extraterritorial reach

    Nature

    HITRUST CSF
    Voluntary certifiable framework with assurance program
    EU AI Act
    Mandatory EU regulation with conformity assessments

    Testing

    HITRUST CSF
    Maturity-scored validated assessments by external assessors
    EU AI Act
    Conformity assessments, notified bodies for high-risk AI

    Penalties

    HITRUST CSF
    Loss of certification, no legal fines
    EU AI Act
    Fines up to 7% global turnover for violations

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Common questions about HITRUST CSF and EU AI Act

    HITRUST CSF FAQ

    EU AI Act FAQ

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