1. A method for authenticating an identity of a user in order to secure access to a host system, comprising: receiving, at the host system, an identifier for the user from a client system; retrieving, at the host system, a template containing biometric data associated with the user, the template being retrieved from a database of templates by the host system; sending the template to the client system; waiting for the client system to compare the template with a biometric sample gathered from the user to produce a comparison result, and to compute a first message digest using the template, the comparison result and an encryption key; receiving, at the host system, the first message digest from the client system; computing, at the host system, a second message digest using the template, a comparison result indicating a successful match between the biometric sample and the template, and the encryption key; comparing, at the host system, the first message digest and the second message digest; and allowing the user to access the host system if the first message digest matches the second message digest; wherein using the template in computing the second message digest provides an additional measure of security because the first message digest will not match the second message digest unless the client system also used the template in computing first message digest, which indicates that the client computed the comparison result using the template.