It is very likely that DICOM objects contain Protected Health Information. Privacy regulations in the United States (HIPAA), Europe (GDPR), and elsewhere, require that Individually Identifiable Information be kept private. It is the responsibility of those implementing and deploying the DICOM Standard to ensure that applicable regulations for security and privacy are satisfied.

See, for example, [ONC Privacy Security Guide].

Some types of images, such as rendered volumes, or the source slices from which they are created, may include recognizable visual features.

The DICOM PS3.10 File Format has security considerations that will apply whenever DICOM PS3.10 File format is used. See Section 7.5 in PS3.10 .