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Tip: Don't leave your apps hanging out: Secure architecture for Web applications

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, October 4, 2002

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When it comes to establishing remote access to data through Web applications, you can be sure of one thing: It will grow in popularity as more people discover what they can do from their home, their wireless devices, or from other personal computers (PCs).

Your internal users will begin relying on the freedom of Web applications to check e-mail and schedules from the road or locations in the facility other than their primary work station. Your business partners will find it helpful to be able to work on their timetable, not yours. And your patients will begin using the Web to have quick access to lab test results, schedules, and payment information.

But at the same time you allow these users to connect to your network so they can find the information they need in real-time, you still have to protect the network against attacks.

Rebecca Herson, director of corporate marketing for Whale Communications in Israel, suggests the use of a reverse proxy could be your best choice in architecture.

How it works
The reverse proxy is essentially a software program running on a server in your network's demilitarized zone (DMZ). It can accept inbound Internet traffic, apply a series of rules to the information it receives, and pass along appropriate traffic to your network while dumping traffic that doesn't meet the rules you've established.

"There is no magic bullet," Herson says, "Every solution will involve a combination of technologies." However, the reverse proxy can offer a lot of controls to protect your network, she says.

Go to http://www.himinfo.com/news/tip/ to read more.

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