An Overview of Network Security

Like no other time in the history of computing, regular users and small network administrators are being confronted with the issues of securing their networks. The Internet has uncovered the deficiencies in standards, protocols, and operating systems by enabling hackers and other ne'er-do-wells the opportunity to test networks from distant locations. Malicious viruses, worms, and Trojan horses seek to infiltrate your network to harm and destroy.

And yet the most likely source of network attack is from your own users, whether out of malice or ignorance. Viruses can be introduced, security procedures circumvented, and sensitive systems and data left unprotected. Clearly, any effective security program has to protect from both internal and external threats.