Security threats in networking have received a lot of attention in recent years. Security is an important component of network design that overshadows every other feature of the network. Thus, it is essential to consider data security in the network design. All security models must start with a policy that determines what will and will not be permitted within the network. As described in previous lesson, in the FCAPS model, security has to touch all the functions to be effective (Clemm 2007, Padjen and Lammle 2000).
Security in an Internet environment is both important and difficult. It is important because information has significant value. Information can be bought and sold directly or used indirectly to create new products and services that yield high profits. Security in an Internet is difficult because security involves understanding when and how participating users, computers, services, and networks can trust one another as well as understanding the technical details of network hardware and protocols (Comer 2000). To determine effectively the security needs within an organization and to evaluate and choose various security solutions and products, the network manager responsible for security, needs to define the requirements for security and characterize the approaches to satisfying those requirements.
This lesson consists of four sections:
- Security Issues in Intranets and the Internet
- Firewalls
- Encryption-based Solutions
- Authentication-based Solutions