Introduction

Telecommunications and the Internet are part of everyday life and popular culture.   Commercialization has distributed the technologies of the computer and cell phone to over 50% of the population.   Incredible amounts of information and resources are available online for any specific topic.   This includes information that is highly personal and private (e.g., family information).   And yet, in spite of this ready access to such personal information, dental professionals continue to routinely store, integrate, and compile personal health data about patients in similar electronic environments with the belief they are secure.

The reality is online security is essentially a misnomer.   The recent cyber-infiltration and pilfering of products and source codes from Microsoft's most "secured network" by hackers is evidence that even the foremost developer and provider of software products cannot adequately and totally protect its own data.   Of greater significance is a relatively simple and basic hacking tool, "QAZ Trojan," available to anyone on the web was used by the hackers.   "The attack proves what many in the Internet security business have said for years:  Even the largest corporations and governments are vulnerable to cybercrime."¹

Everyone has a stake in protecting patient privacy.   The challenge is to preserve the integrity of electronic health data.   Although no security protocol is 100% effective, a good faith and reasonable approach is needed to achieve the necessary safeguards.   This requires an enterprise approach seeking to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of electronically transmitted information.

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