Sunbelt Software White Paper Sample
“Security” is a broad concept because it involves anticipating and protecting against many different types of threats. Just as a person who travels from one place to another can potentially spread infectious disease, any data packet that travels from one system to another across a network has the potential to spread viruses and other malicious code (malware). The more extensive the sick person’s travels and the more people he/she comes into contact with along the way, the greater the risk. Likewise, network applications like email that involve a larger amount of data traffic from multiple sources pose the greatest risk.
Any of these multiple sources can contain one or more of the following threats via email:
• Viruses, worms, and Trojans embedded in HTML messages and attached documents that can infect the system and be spread to other computers over the network.
• Malware and other executable programs or controls that run when you open email attachments and can launch attacks on your own system or network, turn the system into a “zombie” that attacks other networks, open “backdoors” through which hackers can take control of the system, and more.
• Links to “phishing” web sites that collect personal information that can then be used by the sender for purposes of fraud or identity theft.
• Links to “spyware” web sites that install malware on the end-user’s machine.
• Unwanted commercial email (UCE or spam) that clogs up mailboxes, may contain offensive material that could subject the company to lawsuits, and can result in performance slowdowns or even denial of service if the volume is large enough.
