ABSTRACT
Perhaps the most difficult application to secure is the shared database environment offered by LANs. When a company offers network access to one or more databases, it must restrict and control all user query operations. Each database should have a protective key, or series of steps, known only to those individuals entitled to access the data. To ensure that intruders cannot duplicate the data from the system files, users should first have to sign on with passwords and then prove that they are entitled to the data requested. Passwords should have a minimum of six or seven characters; passwords with fewer characters are too easily broken by brute-force guessing.
