Encryption Framework for Protected Health Information (PHI)

Problem/Motivation

HIPAA compliance requires encryption of Protected Health Information (PHI) both at rest and in transit. Drupal 11 lacks a unified, recipe-based approach to field-level and database encryption that meets HIPAA standards and integrates with the broader security architecture.

Steps to reproduce

1. Install Drupal 11
2. Attempt to configure field-level encryption for sensitive data
3. Try to implement key management for encryption/decryption
4. Note the complex, manual configuration required across multiple modules

Proposed resolution

Create a Recipe component for PHI encryption that includes:

• Field-level encryption for sensitive data
• Key management system with rotation capabilities
• Database encryption integration
• Transport layer security enforcement
• Encryption audit and reporting tools

Remaining tasks

1. Define encryption standards and algorithms for compliance
2. Implement Recipe-based encryption configuration
3. Create key management interfaces
4. Build encryption status dashboard
5. Develop documentation on encryption implementation

User interface changes

• Encryption management dashboard
• Field encryption configuration UI
• Key management interface

API changes

• Encryption service integration with Recipe API
• Key management hooks
• Field type encryption extensions

Data model changes

• Encrypted field storage schema
• Key management entities
• Encryption audit log structure