Healthcare organisations hold some of society’s most sensitive data and operate systems where security failures can directly impact patient safety. Public Key Infrastructure provides the cryptographic foundation for protecting patient information, securing medical devices, enabling interoperable care delivery, and demonstrating compliance with stringent data protection regulations.

At Unsung, we deliver PKI solutions that enable healthcare providers to protect patient privacy, secure clinical systems, and maintain the trust that is fundamental to the patient-clinician relationship.

Securing Healthcare Through PKI

Modern healthcare depends on interconnected digital systems spanning hospitals, primary care, community services, and patient-facing applications. PKI enables:

Clinician Authentication and Access Control — Certificate-based smart card authentication ensures only authorised clinical staff can access Electronic Patient Records (EPR), prescribing systems, and diagnostic platforms. PKI provides the strong authentication required by NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit and supports zero-trust architectures and role-based access control across complex care pathways.

Patient Data Protection — Encryption of patient data in transit and at rest protects confidentiality across clinical networks, cloud platforms, and data sharing between care providers. PKI ensures healthcare organisations meet GDPR, Caldicott Principles, and information governance requirements. For a foundational overview of the key types involved, see our guide to encryption keys.

Medical Device Security — From infusion pumps and patient monitors to imaging equipment and surgical robots, connected medical devices require secure identity and encrypted communications. PKI enables automated certificate lifecycle management for diverse device estates while supporting FDA and MHRA cybersecurity guidance. Digital certificates provide the identity layer that underpins device trust.

Secure Health Information Exchange — Interoperability initiatives including NHS Spine connections, shared care records, and regional health information exchanges depend on PKI to authenticate systems, encrypt data flows, and provide audit trails for information sharing across organisational boundaries.

Telemedicine and Remote Care — Video consultations, remote monitoring, and digital patient portals require encrypted connections and authenticated endpoints. PKI secures telehealth platforms while maintaining the privacy and trust patients expect from healthcare interactions.

Digital Prescribing and Electronic Signatures — Electronic prescribing systems, consent forms, and clinical documentation require digital signatures that provide non-repudiation and tamper-evidence. PKI enables paperless clinical workflows while maintaining legal validity and audit compliance. Signing keys should be protected within hardware security modules to prevent compromise.

Addressing Healthcare Challenges

Healthcare organisations face unique pressures balancing clinical safety, operational demands, and regulatory compliance. Unsung understands the challenges of:

Regulatory compliance including GDPR, NHS Data Security Standards, CQC requirements, Medical Device Regulations, and clinical safety standards.

Legacy clinical systems where ageing EPRs, PACS, and departmental systems have limited support for modern authentication and encryption. For organisations facing similar challenges in the context of PQC, our post on architectural wrappers for legacy IT offers practical approaches.

24/7 operational requirements with zero tolerance for certificate outages that could prevent clinical staff accessing patient records or medical devices.

Constrained IT resources where clinical priorities and budget pressures limit capacity for complex security implementations.

Complex multi-organisation environments spanning acute trusts, integrated care systems, and third-party service providers. Managing certificates across these silos demands the kind of coordination explored in our post on making automation work across silos.

Our approach combines technical expertise with a pragmatic understanding of healthcare operations, clinical workflows, and the operational realities of resource-constrained environments.

Patient health records carry lifelong sensitivity, making healthcare one of the sectors most exposed to the harvest now, decrypt later threat. A Cryptographic Bill of Materials provides the visibility needed to identify which systems and data flows carry the greatest exposure, enabling trusts and care systems to prioritise quantum-resistant protections where they matter most and evidence cryptographic governance to regulators.

Our Healthcare PKI Capabilities

Clinical System PKI Architecture — We design certificate infrastructures that support diverse healthcare use cases from clinician authentication and medical device security to cloud EPR platforms and health information exchanges — accounting for air-gapped networks, legacy system constraints, and clinical safety requirements. Our PKI design and build service covers the full architecture lifecycle.

Certificate Lifecycle Management — Healthcare organisations often lack visibility of certificates across sprawling estates of clinical systems, medical devices, and infrastructure. We implement automated certificate lifecycle management platforms that prevent certificate-related outages while reducing operational overhead. For a deeper look at what CLM involves, see our CLM explainer series.

PKI Health Checks and Readiness Assessments — Our comprehensive PKI health checks evaluate existing PKI environments to identify risks, compliance gaps, and technical debt. We provide evidence-based recommendations that de-risk planned initiatives such as CLM implementations, EPR migrations, or medical device integration programmes.

Medical Device PKI — Specialist expertise in securing connected medical devices including certificate provisioning for device authentication, encrypted communications for patient data, and integration with hospital IoT platforms and network access control systems.

NHS Compliance Support — We develop governance documentation and compliance mapping that demonstrates how PKI controls support Data Security and Protection Toolkit requirements, Cyber Essentials Plus, and NHS Digital security standards. Our PKI consultancy team brings proven experience from regulated healthcare environments.

Integration Services — We integrate PKI with existing healthcare IT systems including identity management platforms, ITSM tools, and clinical workflows — ensuring certificate operations align with change management processes and clinical risk frameworks.

Managed PKI Services — From 24/7 monitoring and incident response to certificate operations and governance support, we provide comprehensive managed PKI services that allow healthcare IT teams to focus on clinical system support while maintaining robust cryptographic security.

Preparing for Post-Quantum Cryptography in Healthcare

Healthcare data carries some of the longest confidentiality requirements of any sector. Patient records retain their sensitivity for a lifetime, and research data may remain valuable for decades. The NIST PQC roadmap sets deprecation of RSA and ECC by 2030 — well within the retention period of records created today.

Unsung supports healthcare clients in building cryptographic inventories, assessing cryptographic agility across clinical and infrastructure systems, and developing phased migration plans that maintain clinical service continuity throughout the transition. For practical guidance on starting this journey without major investment, see our guide to five practical steps to PQC readiness.

Why Unsung for Healthcare PKI?

Unsung brings vendor-neutral expertise and a proven track record of working in regulated, operationally complex environments. We understand that healthcare organisations require partners who combine technical depth with practical awareness of clinical priorities, resource constraints, and the operational pressures of delivering 24/7 patient care.

Clinically-aware consulting understanding how PKI decisions impact clinical workflows, patient safety, and operational resilience.

Pragmatic implementation recognising the constraints of legacy systems, limited resources, and the need for minimal disruption to clinical services.

Regulatory expertise with experience supporting NHS trusts, private healthcare providers, and health technology companies in meeting data protection and cybersecurity requirements.

Risk-based approach ensuring PKI investments are proportionate, achievable, and aligned with clinical and information governance priorities.

Flexible engagement models from strategic health checks and readiness assessments through to full-service PKI operations.

Whether implementing PKI for a new EPR platform, securing medical device networks, conducting health checks to de-risk CLM initiatives, or modernising authentication infrastructure across integrated care systems, Unsung provides the specialist knowledge and delivery capability that healthcare organisations require.

Clients We Have Worked With

We are proud to work with clients including various NHS Trusts across the UK and Sykehuspartner in Norway, delivering PKI solutions that protect patient data and support secure healthcare delivery.

Our Recent Projects

PKI Health Check for NHS Trust — Comprehensive assessment of PKI service readiness to inform and de-risk Certificate Lifecycle Management implementation, ensuring technical and business readiness for adoption.

Enterprise PKI Architecture for Integrated Care System — Design and implementation of certificate infrastructure supporting secure health information exchange across multiple care providers.

Medical Device Security Programme — Implementation of automated certificate lifecycle management for connected medical devices across acute hospital environments.