Network security-a taxonomic view

Rapid advancement in the technologies of communication and computers coupled with falling costs of communication and computer hardware have made networked computers the systems of choice in all organisations. The phenomenal growth of the Internet, its non-discriminatory access philosophy, and the growing practice of internetworking have all provided unprecedented opportunities not only for benign information/resource access but also for malign intrusions which pose enormous security problems for organisations. Breakthroughs in network connectivity bring in new security problems. This paper quantifies the class of security threats and mechanisms for meeting these threats in the age of the ubiquitous Web