Building a Solid Foundation for Intranet Security

Abstract

The acceleration of change in the telecommunications network environment is presenting a serious challenge to the protection of information. Intranets — internal use of World Wide Web technology — are compelling because use of familiar Internet standards for access also reduces costs. Undoubtedly, one of the major issues for intranets is information security, defined as the protection of information from accidental or intentional loss of availability, integrity, or confidentiality. Organizations providing internal data to external users, such as customers, vendors, consultants, and partners, face further hazards. The Web is designed to be open to everyone so that information can be easily disseminated throughout the world. Security on intra- nets requires control — individual identification and authentication of users along with specific authorization for access to resources. The romance with technology is proceeding at such a rapid pace that there seems to be little time for analysis of control requirements and building the security architecture necessary to safeguard information assets.