Internet Security
...lmost all daily activities of a company take place over the Internet or the organization's network (intranet). The exchange of this data over such lines lends itself to security breaches. A hacker can breach a network in a number of different ways and sometimes interference in the system is not even detectable. With these problems becoming more evident, the government is taking measures to prevent such attacks. In mid-July the Pentagon, the National Security Agency, and private organizations developed security standards to handle some of these problems. Hackers are aware of most problems that are associated with security and know to take advantage of them. Most of these problems simply involve flaws for which easy protections exist-but the protections were never put into effect. These government standards will help to prevent some of these common problems. Measures of Protection There are many ways to protect against security breaches. Some of these methods include a firewall, user authentication, data encryption, and virus detection. Firewalls A firewall is a system that filters any incoming data from the Internet and prevents unauthorized access to or from a network. It is the first line of defense for an organization. It acts a security guard for the organization's internal network, blocking any invalid requests and transmissions. It can also be used between departments to prevent users from accessing secure data. There are many types of firewalls. A few of them include: „X Packet Filter: Examines each packet as it enters or leaves the systems and based on user-defined rules it will either accept or reject it. A packet is a piece of message. „X Application Gateway: Applies different security techniques to specific applications. „X Proxy Server: Seizes the data coming in and out of the network and hides the true network address. One of the unique features of a firewall is that it has the capability of recording attempted intrusions for later assessment. There are some downfalls associated with firewalls, though. It is only a single point of defense and needs to be combined with other protection measures to work effectively. Also, if a firewall is not installed correctly, it will not work properly. This protection system alone does not guarantee total protection from intrusion. User Authentication A very common way to protect data is through user authentication, which requires verification of a user by a username and password prior to permitting them access into a system. This technique can be used externally to prevent an outside user from accessing secure data. User authentication can also be implemented internally between departments to restrict access from a user within the company. One of the advantages of user authentication is that it can be put to use within a firewall, application, document, or Operating System. Almost every company network uses user authentication in some form. A major problem with this method of security is that it can be easy for hackers to break the password created by users because most users choose passwords based on their personal life. Data Encryption In data encryption, the data is translated into a secret code before and during transmission, making attempts to access the data ineffective. When the data arrives at the proper destination, it is decrypted so that it can be understood. There are three basic elements to an encryption system. They are: „X A method of changing data into code (the algorithm) „X A hidden place to start the algorithm (the key) „X Control of the key (key management) A binary number (a number composed of only 0s and 1s) will supply the starting key for the algorithm (a set of instructions). The transformation of data into readable format is done with the key. Lastly, the control of the key becomes very important. The key must be kept in a safe place so that unauthorized users can not access it. In most companies, a policy is kept that states that has keys to access certain data. Before a message is encrypted it is known as plain text. Once it is encoded it is referred to as cipher text. There are two types of encryption. They are: „X Asymmetric encryption: This type of encryption is also known as public-key encryption. It uses two keys. One key ...