End-to-end Internet security still depends on encryption apps.

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Author: Jones, Chris

Securing extended enterprises from hackers can sometimes become lost in the hoopla surrounding "extranets" and electronic commerce.

However, companies using the Internet to communicate with a branch office or business partner depend on the security of other networks.

Firewalls are a first line of defense; as applications and protocols enter the picture, updates and maintenance of security systems have become the bigger problems. "This is a very big concern, because one of the biggest holes in security is configuration and management, both of which are absolutely critical," said Erica Rugullies, an analyst with the Hurwitz Group in Newton, Mass. "There have been plenty of break-ins to intranets, but people are very reluctant to talk about them."

The only current security technique that appears to provide protection for digital communications over open networks is public-key, encryption-based applications, such as digital certificates, used to authenticate the identity of users, servers, and even routers. Pretty Good Privacy and RSA Data Security are starting to capitalize on encryption-based applications and toolkits; others are starting to integrate these tools with existing application infrastructures.

"With any kind of communications, you have to rely on other people enforcing security policies," said Jorgen Moller, President of Advanced Network Technology, in Toronto, which provides security consulting and integration services to corporations. "One-to-one you can manage it, but many-to-many it's almost impossible. There you have to use crypto services."

Some analysts predict that firewalls will focus solely on protecting operating systems and leave applications and data security to encryption-based products.

"Business-to-business commerce systems involve much more than a firewall, which secures network access but not the systems themselves. You need to be concerned about applications and data on mainframes, desktops, and other locations," Hurwitz's Rugullies said.

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By Chris Jones