Internet security: difficulties and solutions

In the last half of this decade, the Internet has drastically changed and has become the most popular and useful communication and information infrastructure. Thousands of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have installed innumerable points of nation-wide access to the Internet. From these access points to the infrastructure, a school can deliver class work, a company can expand business and individuals can seek entertainment. Anyone can use this inexpensive infrastructure. However, expanded access carries with it the potential risk of an incident, often referred to as a ‘security’ incident. It is as impossible to predict an incident as it is to predict human daily life. Incident prevention is critical. It is also impossible to avoid malicious attempts to attack, making defence vital to protection. When defence fails, recovery becomes the last means of survival. From a security standpoint, prevention, defence and recovery are the keys to survival. The financial cost of security is not trivial. Not all applications require security and different applications require different levels of security. Justifying the costs of security requires motivating factors such as lives, rights, privacy, money, future and seclusion. Since these factors are the primary interests of financial, medical and industrial systems, these institutions are appropriate places to begin applying security technology. Discussions regarding how to connect to the Internet, what information they transport and how to transport it through the Internet are critical to their success. This paper attempts to answer those questions.