New trends on security infrastructure for computer networks

The explosive advent of the Internet has challenged many fundamental assumptions regarding the way of working, communication, commerce and security. The Internet openness makes it an ideal platform for global commerce and communication but since it is open, communications are inherently difficult to secure. A new model of information access is developing and is creating impacts on information security. This paper examines some fundamental issues in network security. Topics discussed include: network accesses control, security architecture, firewalls and strong authentication/authorization methods.