Virtual Private Networks:
VPN is the term used to describe a private network that is constructed between two nodes using public wires. A VPN establishes trust between the interconnected nodes. All communications are encrypted, and each node knows what encryption is used. A VPN requires special hardware and software and is therefore difficult and expensive to implement. Also, a VPN can only protect a one-to-one connection.

Public Key Infrastructure:
A PKI is a system of digital certificates, certificate authorities, and other registration authorities that verify and authenticate the validity of each party involved in an online transaction. PKI relies on public key cryptography, in which a so-called “key pair” is used to encrypt and decrypt messages sent electronically over unsecured paths. The two keys in a key pair are complementary mathematical algorithms. When one key performs a certain function (such as encrypting an electronic message), only the other key in the pair can perform the complementary function (decrypting the message), thereby authenticating the sender and validating the message integrity. Knowledge of one key (the public key) does not require knowledge of the other key (the private key), which is held in confidence by its owner.

PKI protects electronic messages sent over unsecured paths. Using PKI can satisfy the HIPAA requirements for data confidentiality, user authentication, access control, data integrity, and support for non-repudiation of data. Using PKI can also satisfy other HIPAA requirements for certain administrative procedures, physical safeguards, and audit trails.

Smart Cards:
A smart card is a plastic card with an embedded chip that can be either a microcontroller with internal memory or a memory chip alone. The card connects to a reader with direct physical contact or with a remote contactless electromagnetic interface. With an embedded microcontroller, smart cards have the unique ability to store large amounts of data, carry out their own on-card functions (e.g., encryption and digital signatures) and interact intelligently with a smart card reader.

Smart cards are used worldwide in financial, telecommunications, transit, health care, secure identification and other applications.

Biometric Technologies:
Biometric technologies authenticate an individual by validating one of the person’s physiological features, such as a fingerprint, iris, face or voice. The physiological feature can be captured and stored as a full biometric image or as a template. Biometric information can be stored on a card or in a host computer.

Using biometrics, an individual can be identified locally (for example, by comparing a physical fingerprint with a fingerprint template saved on a card) or remotely (by comparing the physical fingerprint with a fingerprint template saved on a host computer).

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