>>Hi,
>>
>>I need to develop a database that contains very confidential information. This data must be accessible to remote sites (using the internet) but must be very secure (it is medical data). I would probably go with SQL Server or POSTGRESQL as the database.
>>
>>Off the top of my head I see two options for accessing it:
>>
>>1. database on the web hosted somewhere and web front end to access it. This is probably not very secure.
>>
>>2. database hosted on company's machine, accessible through a VPN over the internet. Is this more secure?
>>
>>Are there other options I should consider? Any advice?
>
>If it needs to be secure then I would either choose PostgreSQL or Oracle. SQL Server and MySQL have a lot of security issues.
>
>I would also take a look at Oracle Application Express:
>
>http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/application_express/index.html
>
>Regards,

Thanks Bill,

Oracle will not be an option for this system. I'll research the security problems you mention with SQL Server, do you have anywhere for me to start off?

Why do you recommend Oracle's application express? Is it more secure than other development tools?

Whatever technologies I adopt for the database and user interface, should I be looking at using a VPN or is it safe enough to host the data on a web server and allow access through a web site?