Introduction

Since the dawn of the Internet Age, we have witnessed the constant advance of innovative technologies and enjoyed a continuous expansion of access, convenience, and power that networked computer systems provide. From unparalleled communications around the globe to the simple act of paying bills from a cellular phone, it seems that nothing is impossible. Yet, with this progress comes a similarly constant and increasing threat against our privacy, our financial security, and the very lifestyle we treasure.

Each year brings news of larger and more devastating technological security incidents in both commercial and federal sectors. Last year, we saw the compromise of several massive credit card databases, including Card Systems and Lowe s. Just recently, confidential data, including the Social Security numbers and medical histories of thousands of U.S. veterans was stolen, only to be recovered later. Was the data that held the identity of those veterans copied and sold? Will that singular incident cost the U.S. government millions of dollars and wreak havoc on thousands of citizens?

The statistical trends of security incidents have not and will not decline; our increased access to more valuable and critical data provides too great an incentive to amateur hackers and professional criminals.The Mazu Networks 2006 Internal Threat Report finds that, although enterprises are clearly more educated and aware of the risks posed by internal network vulnerabilities than ever before, they continue to fall victim to a growing number of attacks that circumvent perimeter and endpoint security solutions. In 2005, malicious attacks...