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SSL versus TLS – What’s the difference?

Saturday, May 12th, 2018

SSL versus TLS

TLS (Transport Layer Security) and SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) are protocols that provide data encryption and authentication between applications and servers when that data is sent across an insecure network. The terms SSL and TLS are often used interchangeably or in conjunction with each other (TLS/SSL), but one is, in fact, the predecessor of the other. SSL 3.0 served as the basis for TLS 1.0, which, as a result, is sometimes referred to as SSL 3.1. With this said, is there a practical difference between the two?

SSL versus TLS: What is the differenc?

See also our Infographic which summarizes these differences.

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Tags: beast, compliance, email security, poodle, secure email, secure socket layer, security, ssl, ssl vs tls, sslv3, tls, tls vs ssl, transport layer
Posted in LuxSci Library: Security and Privacy, Popular Posts
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HIPAA Law and HITECH/Omnibus Conformance – Small Medical Practice

Monday, August 14th, 2017

As the owner of a small to medium-sized medical business (a 1-19 physician practice, say, with 5-50 employees) you have many concerns – how to hire and retain competent staff, how to deal with your vendors such as office payroll, billing and collection services, and, above all, how to serve your patients’ needs in the most economical and expeditious way.  I.e., by speeding up scheduling, quickly accessing medical records, coordinating treatment with other doctors, etc. Time spent managing your information and communications infrastructure for HIPAA or HITECH compliance may not seem to be the most critical aspect of your work.

HIPAA / HITECH

However, the use of ICT – information and communications technologies –  in the healthcare industry has become increasingly pervasive and has special relevance for every medical practitioner, given the provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which adds more substance to the original Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)  privacy and security rules.  HITECH also incentivizes medical practitioners to step up their use of electronic health records (EHR) to “exchange electronic health information with, and integrate such information from, other sources.”

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Tags: compliance, hipaa, hitech, omnibus
Posted in LuxSci Library: HIPAA
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Why Should You Bother with Information Security? Isn’t Everything Hackable Anyway?

Thursday, June 1st, 2017

With the ever-increasing flow of large-scale hacks, many seem resigned to the fact that its only a matter of time before they get hit too. Security and its challenges have fully penetrated mainstream thought. Everyone knows that the CIA, the FBI, Russia, and even the hacker next door can break into your computer or phone, hijack your router, intercept your traffic, and take over your life.

In response, there has been a huge cry for better training, more secure software, secure email and secure texting. Basically, security everywhere. But if the hackers and agencies are really this powerful, why should you bother?

Cynbersecurity

Are security services and products worth anything these days? Do they actually provide any protection? Or are they the emperor’s new bullet-proof-vest? It is surprising how many people have come to accept a complete lack of security. Some seem to use this as an excuse to avoid technologies that could benefit both their personal and business lives.

A great example comes from a dentist who was interested in sending notices to his patients via text, but resigned himself to “not bothering” as there is “no way to secure these things, anyway.” While that may be true in an absolute sense, it is not true practically.

In this article we will examine the reasons why we should bother with security and how it can help us in our personal and business lives.

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Tags: compliance, cybersecurity, hackers, saas, security, threat
Posted in LuxSci Library: Security and Privacy
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Are you Minimizing your Risk by using the Next Generation of Opt In Email Encryption?

Friday, September 11th, 2015

We have long held that leaving it to each sender/employee to properly enable encryption for each sensitive message (a.k.a “Opt In Encryption”) is too risky.  Why? Any mistake or oversight immediately equals a breach and liability.

Instead, LuxSci has always promoted use of “Opt Out Encryption,” in which the account default is to encrypt everything unless the sender specifically indicates that the message is not sensitive.  The risk with Opt Out Encryption is very much smaller than with Opt In.  (See Opt-In Email Encryption is too Risky for HIPAA Compliance).

The problem is: many companies use Opt In Encryption because it is convenient when sending messages without sensitive information — you just send these messages “as usual,”  without forethought.  These companies are trading large risks in return for conveniences.

LuxSci has solved the “Opt In vs. Opt Out” conundrum with its SecureLine Email Encryption Service.  You could say that SecureLine enables the “Next Generation” of Opt In Email Encryption — combining both usability and security.

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Tags: breach, compliance, email encryption, glba, hipaa, opt in, opt out, pgp, s/mime, secureline, tls, TLS-Only
Posted in LuxSci Library: HIPAA, LuxSci Library: Security and Privacy
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HIPAA Compliant Emails Sent From your Web Site: Best Practices

Tuesday, January 7th, 2014

You buy a HIPAA compliant web hosting infrastructure.  You configure your web site to send out email messages in the simplest way, e.g. through PHP mail, or some other generic and standard mechanism.  You think you are all set — but you are not.

HIPAA compliant web hosting services provide a server infrastructure that allows you to be compliant; however, it doesn’t make you compliant.  Your web designers must make choices and program your site so that it properly respects ePHI.  If they do not do all the appropriate things, you will be out of compliance.  E.g. see: 7 steps to make your web site HIPAA-secure.

In particular, email messages sent in the “normal way” from a web site will go out insecurely in a way that will violate the HIPAA Security Rule if they contain ePHI of any kind.  E.g. they will not be encrypted and will not be archived.

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Tags: archived, compliance, encrypted, ePHI, hipaa, secure email, secureform, web hosting, web site
Posted in LuxSci Library: HIPAA
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