Chapter 14 - Concepts in IP Security

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of some of the issues related to Internet security and shows the workings of the key security protocols. Security within an IP network can be applied at any or all of a set of different levels: (1) Physical security governs the connectivity and access to private networks; (2) protocol-level security controls and safeguards the essential protocols that make the Internet work; (3) application security can be used to protect sensitive data and to limit access to applications; and (4) transport and network layer security is used to protect data flows across public or exposed networks and connections. Network security has become an issue because of the large number of computers connected together, and the increase in quantity and sensitivity of the information held on computer and distributed across the Internet. Various techniques are used to compromise Internet security. The most obvious technique involves simply impersonating another user to access that user's computer. Remote access protocols such as Telnet and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) make this particularly easy.