TABLE OF CONTENTS With worldwide connections, someone can get into your system in the middle of the night when your building is locked up. The Internet allows the electronic equivalent of an intruder who looks for open windows and doors. Now, a person can check for hundreds of vulnerabilities in just a few hours.
Most network-based computer security crimes go unreported, yet the statistics are alarming: According to industry analysts, most breeches of Internet and data security are kept quiet. The most amazing stories are never printed, so you never hear about them from anyone.
Companies are experiencing different types of losses. Examples include service interruption, whereby attackers effectively shut down the network gateway to the outside world or someone wantonly removes a central password file; theft of online corporate assets or interception of sensitive e-mail or data as they are transmitted; and fraudulent misrepresentation of either data or someone as a user. Many companies unknowingly increase the vulnerability to their computer network, all in the name of improving productivity:
By adding a remote access e-mail gateway so employees can access e-mail while away from the office, companies may unwittingly provide a side door into their computer network, especially if strong authentication measures are not implemented.
By adding a World Wide Web site and FTP server so their customers can instantly retrieve product information and software fixes from anywhere in the world at any time of the day or night, companies may be unaware that they are providing an electronic...
