Remote Computing: Security Options.

• Author: Johnston, Randolph P.

This is the second in a series of four articles on remote computing.

Anytime a computer is connected to the Internet, the risk of attack exists. According to the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), there were more than 21,000 incidents in 2000. This represents more than a 100% increase over the number of incidents reported in 1999 and an over 600% increase over the number of incidents reported in 1998. Note that the CERT Coordination Center (www.cert.org), located at Software Engineering Institute operated by Carnegie Mellon University, is the leading worldwide source of Internet security information.

As the CERT numbers show, Internet security is a growing concern. Both business networks and individuals are at risk. Even on dial-up links, precaution should be exercised. Three security options will be discussed in this article: firewalls, encryption, and virtual private networks.

Firewalls

Firewalls are designed to protect computers from security breaches. A firewall can protect a single computer, or it can be configured to protect all the computers on a network. Firewalls can be hardware based or software based. A hardware-based firewall is a separate device between the computer and the Internet connection. A software-based firewall is software loaded on the computer that is connected to the Internet.

For most business applications, including those for telecommuters, hardware-based firewalls are the best solutions. Hardware-based firewalls generally provide a higher level of protection than software solutions. Another advantage is that they do not draw down the resources of the user's computer. Many of these products are so simple to install and use that a computer-literate user can install the device in less than 30 minutes. However, under a few conditions, most notably with DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), outsourced technical help may be required.

We recommend products from such vendors as Sonic Wall, LinkSys, 3Com, Intel, and others that have appliance firewalls in their product mix. An example product for a home user might be a Sonic Wall SOHO 10. These products typically cost $200 to $700, but very sophisticated versions might cost $2,000 to $9,000. The firewalls used in a main office should be faster and more capable. An example of this type of firewall today would be the Sonic Wall Pro. This product can support up to 1,000 users and offers other features, such as content filtering, virus scanning, and the ability to implement a...