The Internet:

The backbone of the Internet is composed of millions of interconnected IP networks networking together to link computers around the world.  Electronic data transferring occurs all the time sending information to other people or businesses across the globe.  There are many ways to connect to the Internet; the connection methods vary by the amount of data that can be transferred inpackets and the transmitting speed that the packet can be sent.

Internet User Connections:

·        Dial-up modem:  low connection speeds over the telephone line

·        ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Networks)

·        DSL (Digital Subscriber Loop):  high speed broadband connection through a local telephone line

·        Cable Modem: high speed connection through cable line

·        Satellite Modem

·        Frame Relay: commercial businesses high speed connection

·        T1/T3

·        OC3 and higher

·        Ethernet

    The backbone that transfers your data is owned and operated by Internet Service Providers.  ISP is the link to “get to the net”, some offer advantages over others by offering email accounts, disk space for web pages and firewall and intrusion detection securities.

Currently Operating ISP

·      AT&T

·      MCI

·      Bellsouth

·      America Online

·      NetZero

·      Juno

    The Internet is a land of unsecured links that allows freedom to enter and probe personal information and business network systems.  In recent years security measures on the Internet have been an increasing need demanded by customers.  The new trend for Internet Service Providers is to provide already installed firewalls and IDS security to their server.  The improved security measures implemented on the server is a good start in giving consumers add value and protection, but there are other security issues that consumer need to be aware of.

Internet Insecurities

·         

·         Inherent Insecurity of Technology:  put end users responsible of Internet security

·         Implicit Trust:  systems trust the data is safe, in readable form, and will install without hesitation

·         Lack of Authentication

·         Anonymity:  hidden identity of user on the Internet

·         Lack of Privacy

·         Lack of Centralized Security Management:  the effectiveness of monitoring a system decreases as the size of the company increases

·         Day-to-Day Security is Hard

     Internet users can protect their information by securing all aspects of their computer.

Safe Guard Security Methods

·         

·         Encryption:  to encode a plain text message so that it cannot be read or understood by anyone else except the recipient who will know how to decrypt the message
 o Secret Key Encryption
 o Public Key Encryption

·        Authentication:  identifies the user in order to control access and record user activities
 o Password Authentication
 o Session Authentication
 o Public Key Authentication
 o Certificate-Based Authentication
 o Biometric Authentication

·        Firewalls: filters and controls the communication between the public network and the private network

·        Intrusion Detection System:  Monitors private networks and defends the system with its Active IDS, which attempts to block attacks and reports to the administrators in real time of the attack or the unusual activity.