Abstracts of ArMes and Recent Literature

could crash if other software that still uses the

two-digit format is on the system. Security

Management, July 1998, p. 13.

Protection from viruses. Attachmate claims

companies can better address network security by

installing a VPN. In a recent research document, the

company claims that aVPN has the ability to shield a network from viruses, hackers, corporate spies and

other types of threat, by incorporating authentication for people coming in from the Internet, a firewall and

encryption. A VPN operates by providing a secure

connection across a public network such as the

Internet. IBMToday,July 1998, p. 22.

How to ensure your Internet security, Martin I/an Name and Bill Catchings. If you’re determined to do a

good job of addressing online privacy and security

you’ll have developed policies that keep your data

secure and protect the privacy of your customers.

You’ve studied the available technologies and products

and chosen the best tools for your needs.You’ve used those tools to implement your policies faithfully. If

only it were that simple. No security or privacy

programme is complete without ongoing testing and

training. Adding testing and training to your security

efforts will increase your up-front investment. In the

end, though, doing so may well save you the time and

cost of dealing with security and privacy problems.

PCWeek, September 1, 1998, p. 20.

Bundled offering secures links, Rutyell Yasin. NetGuard Inc. has rolled out the NetGuard Control Center, a firewall which combines the company’s

Guardian Firewall and Guidepost bandwidth control

products via a centralized management interface. Also

included in the package is Microsoft’s Active

Directory to let administrators manage users, groups,

networks and servers. NetGuard recognizes that IT managers want a single point from which to manage all of their Internet traffic. Currently, administrators use a variety of applications that don’t necessarily communicate with each other. The Guardian Firewall has enhanced authentication, network address transla- tion and reporting capabilities. Internetme&, August 17, 1998, p. 9.

Network managers unite over bug, George Black. The Telecommunications Managers Association. is

developing a programme to help users test their

networks for Year 2000 compliance. The aim is to

create a set of standard tests for network devices by the

end of the year.The experts advice is that the whole

task of ensuring Year 2000 compliance should be

completed by the end of this year.The association ini-

tiative is be taken because members say many network

equipment suppliers have failed to respond adequate-

ly to requests for information about the compliance of

their products. At a meeting of the group a number of

telecoms managers admitted that they did not know

whether certain devices on their networks were

compliant. Computer M/eekly, September 24, 1998, p. 22.

Security in Platinum setting, Rtltrell Yasin. Platinum Technology Inc. has big plans for IT securi-

ty. With its acquisition of Memco Software, Platinum

hopes to become a major force in the enterprise security market. But the company faces plenty of

competition for security tools suppliers, networking

vendors and other enterprise management software

providers. Many large vendors - from Cisco to IBM

to Sun Microsystems - have set their sights on

enterprise security as user organizations demand more

comprehensive tools to protect electronic commerce

and other critical applications. Platinum plans to lever-

age its IT infrastructure management expertise to give

companies a single source for management and

security applications, data, databases and systems across

an enterprise network. The Platinum Provision

management suite already offers access control, single

sign-on and enterprise security administration

features. By acquiring Memco, Platinum will gain additional access control and single sign-on capabili-

ties through Memco’s Security for Open Systems

product line as well as intrusion detection and

response software via Memco’s SessionWall-3. Internet Week, August 24, 1998, p. 25.

To whom can you Entrust security? David Bicknell. A recent US study of public key infrastruc- tures states that some users are uncertain how they should proceed in implementing the fledgling enterprise security plan. The survey, released by US research group Giga, reveals that having decided to

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