Security Benefits of the Intranet
American businessman Stephen Lawton first coined the term "intranet" in the 1995 article "Intranets Fuel Growth of Internet Access Tools." He used the new word to describe private online networks that allow a company's employees to communicate virtually while also keeping the information shared away from the general public. Whether or not intranet users have access to the public Internet, businesses must implement various strategies to combat security issues and protect the flow of electronic communications. If successful, employees can interact freely and safely in a secure computerized environment.
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Firewalls
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Firewalls provide a basic level of required protection for intranets by helping to ensure that only authorized computers are able to access it and blocking those computers that do not have proper permission. The technology usually takes the form of either software or a dedicated computer, both of which are programmed to act as a virtual barrier between the intranet and the Internet, allowing or preventing entry from the Internet to the intranet where appropriate. Consolidating this functionality in one place, the firewall, makes it much easier for administrators to monitor inbound and outbound traffic and to manage access problems, such as hacker attacks, when they occur.
Virtual Private Networks
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Firewalls safeguard an intranet from unauthorized access by those on the Internet outside of the firewall. A Virtual Private Network (VPN), on the other hand, provides a way for employees to safely connect to the intranet when they happen to be on the Internet outside of the firewall, such as when they are working from home or another remote location.
To provide access, VPNs allow remote computers to connect to the intranet via a public network, such as the Internet, instead of using more expensive leased or owned lines meant for a single company. When paired with effective, strong encryption and authentication standards, VPNs help businesses save money while protecting their confidential data.
Encryption
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Encryption is the process of rendering text-based communications in a secret code so they can't be understood without access to the coding system used, which is also required to decipher the messages. Reliable encryption is most necessary in remote-access environments to prevent outsiders from intercepting confidential company information. The two main types of cryptographic systems devised to achieve that goal employ either a secret key, also called a private or symmetric key, or a public key. Keys are the same as a secret mathematical code for decoding and encoding messages, and both types can be combined.
In the case of secret keys, the sending and receiving computers use the same shared key to decrypt and encrypt data. To maintain security, all computers must have the key on hand because sending it over the public, unencrypted Internet isn't an option.
Public-key cryptography solves the problem of transmitting data over an unsecured network by allowing any and all computers to access the receiving computer's public key, which is maintained on a public server. The receiving computer then decrypts messages with an associated secret key only it knows. Used properly, both kinds of cryptography can assure the integrity of data shared via an intranet.
Authentication
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Authentication allows users to prove their identity in order to gain access to the intranet. Passwords - secret codes entered for verification - are the most common method of establishing one's identity. However, a digital certificate - an electronic document that integrates the holder's public key and other personal information with the certifying authority's private key as a digital signature - offers a higher level of reliability because it can't be guessed and then used wrongfully by unauthorized parties. Both types of authentication help to ensure that only approved individuals can gain entry to the intranet.
Considerations
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Firewalls, VPNs, encryption and authentication work in tandem to protect an intranet and give permitted users the peace of mind to work as collaboratively and productively as possible. Yet, even with the best security measures in place, administrators must always remain vigilant to recognize and prevent intruders from accessing or attacking the private network. Computers and software can only do so much, which is why an intranet's security benefits are only as good and reliable as the humans monitoring the intranet.
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