Implementing a secure client/server application

There is an increasing rise in attacks and security breaches on computer systems. Particularly vulnerable are systems that exchange user names and passwords directly across a network without encryption. These kinds of systems include many commercial-off-the-shelf client/server applications. A secure technique for authenticating computer users and transmitting passwords through the use of a trusted {open_quotes}broker{close_quotes} and public/private keys is described in this paper.