The Evolution of Intranet & Intranet Security

Abstract 

When the Internet was originally designed, there was no real concern for security. With technological advancements the once small system designed for military use has now become a much relied upon resource and a significant part of life for many. However, this rapid growth did not come alone. Over the years numerous intrusions and the spread of viruses and worms have had a great impact on the operations of both the Internet and Intranet. The purpose of this report is to look at the evolution of Internet/Intranet Security. It begins with a brief look at the history of Internet security and some statistics, as captured by the CERT Coordination Center of Carnegie Mellon University, on the number of intrusions reported over the years. This is followed by a discussion of the top ten common vulnerabilities and exposures as identified by the System Administration, and Network Security (SANS) Institute. From there the report goes into an examination of some of the preventive measures and tools including their limitations and some of the reasons why businesses have not used them. The report concludes with a brief look at the future of Internet/Intranet Security in light of increasing number of intrusions, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and future concerns of cyber-terrorism.