Scaling Trust: Building Multi-Account Security for the Enterprise at UniBio Intelligence

Published on August 23, 2025 • 6 min read

For biotech and pharmaceutical companies handling sensitive research data, patient information, and proprietary intellectual property, cloud security isn't optional, it's mission-critical. At UniBio Intelligence, we implement the same enterprise-grade, multi-account AWS architecture used by Fortune 500 healthcare and pharmaceutical companies to protect billions of dollars in research data and comply with the strictest regulatory requirements.

In this post, we'll discuss how this battle-tested infrastructure ensures that our data remains secure, compliant, and isolated.

The Stakes: Why Biotech and Pharma Need Highest Security

Life sciences companies face unique challenges that make robust cloud security non-negotiable:

  • Regulatory Compliance: HIPAA, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, GxP, and SOC 2 requirements demand audit trails, data integrity, and access controls[1,2]
  • Data Sovereignty: Patient data and clinical trial information must remain in approved geographic regions
  • Intellectual Property Protection: Proprietary research, drug formulations, and genomic data worth billions require isolation and encryption
  • Blast Radius Containment: If one research project is compromised, others must remain protected
  • Audit Readiness: Regulators require immediate access to complete, tamper-proof logs of all data access and modifications

A single compliance violation or data breach can cost tens of millions in fines, destroy partnerships, and halt clinical trials. Enterprise-grade security isn't about checking boxes: it's about protecting the company's future.

AWS Organizations: The Foundation

AWS Organizations provides centralized management for multiple AWS accounts with hierarchical structure and policy-based governance[3]. Key capabilities include:

  • Service Control Policies (SCPs): Immutable permission boundaries that enforce security controls even root users cannot override
  • Account Isolation: Separate AWS accounts for each research project, clinical trial, or regulatory environment
  • Consolidated Compliance: Apply HIPAA, GxP, and data residency policies across all accounts simultaneously

Example: Our OU Structure

For a life sciences company, the OU hierarchy enforces security boundaries between different data classifications:

Root
├── Security OU
│   ├── Log Archive (7-year HIPAA retention)
│   └── Security Tooling (GuardDuty, Macie)
├── Production PHI OU (HIPAA-eligible services only)
│   ├── Clinical Trial Management
│   ├── Patient Data Platform
│   └── EHR Integration
├── Production Research OU
│   ├── Genomics Pipeline
│   ├── Drug Discovery Platform
│   └── Computational Biology
├── Workload OU
│   └── Non-PHI test environments
└── Partner Collaboration OU
    └── Isolated accounts for external research partners

AWS Control Tower: Enterprise Security on Autopilot

AWS Control Tower automates the deployment of a battle-tested, compliant multi-account architecture[5]. It's the same infrastructure that powers regulated environments at leading pharma companies.

What Control Tower Automates

  • Landing Zone: Pre-configured multi-account environment with security best practices baked in
  • 300+ Compliance Guardrails: Pre-built controls for HIPAA, SOC 2, and industry standards
  • Account Factory: Self-service account creation with mandatory security baseline
  • Continuous Monitoring: Real-time compliance dashboard and drift detection

The Landing Zone: A Secure Foundation

The landing zone automatically configures specialized accounts with security controls that meet regulatory requirements:

Log Archive Account

Immutable, tamper-proof logs of every API call across all accounts. Required for HIPAA, FDA audits, and forensic investigations. 7-10 year retention with automated lifecycle management.

Security Account

GuardDuty for threat detection, Security Hub for compliance scanning, Macie for PHI discovery. Read-only access to all accounts for continuous monitoring.

Workload Accounts

Isolated environments for each clinical trial, research project, or application. Breach in one account cannot spread to others—critical for protecting IP and patient data.

Automatic Security Baseline

CloudTrail, AWS Config, encrypted S3, MFA enforcement, and cross-account audit roles configured automatically. Every new account starts compliant.

Guardrails: Defense in Depth

Control Tower provides 300+ pre-configured guardrails that enforce compliance automatically[6]:

  • Preventive (SCPs): Block unauthorized actions before they happen—e.g., prevent disabling CloudTrail, deny operations outside approved regions
  • Detective (Config Rules): Continuously scan for violations—detect unencrypted S3 buckets, public databases, or missing MFA
  • Proactive (CloudFormation Hooks): Validate infrastructure-as-code deployments before resources are created

For HIPAA compliance, elective guardrails enforce encryption at rest, encryption in transit, access logging, and data residency requirements across all PHI-handling accounts.

Key Implementation Principles

Design for Data Classification

Structure OUs by data sensitivity (PHI vs. research vs. public) rather than by team. Apply strictest controls to PHI accounts.

Start Strict, Relax Selectively

Enable all strongly recommended guardrails from day one. It's nearly impossible to tighten controls later without disrupting production.

Automate Everything

Use Account Factory for self-service provisioning. Enforce baselines through SCPs and StackSets, not manual configuration.

Monitor for Drift

Set up real-time alerts for Control Tower drift and guardrail violations. Investigate within 15 minutes to maintain compliance.

At UniBio Intelligence, we implement this architecture protecting our sensitive data, clinical trial information.

References

  1. [1] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "HIPAA Security Rule." https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/security/index.html
  2. [2] U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "21 CFR Part 11: Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures." FDA Guidance
  3. [3] Amazon Web Services. "AWS Organizations Documentation." https://docs.aws.amazon.com/organizations/
  4. [4] Amazon Web Services. "Service Control Policies (SCPs)." AWS Documentation
  5. [5] Amazon Web Services. "AWS Control Tower." https://aws.amazon.com/controltower/
  6. [6] Amazon Web Services. "AWS Control Tower Guardrails." AWS Documentation
  7. [7] Amazon Web Services. "HIPAA Compliance on AWS." https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/hipaa-compliance/
  8. [8] AWS Security Best Practices. "AWS Well-Architected Framework - Security Pillar." AWS Documentation
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