ABSTRACT
The wide deployment of computers and Internet has caused a dramatic increase in information flow in the modern society. With security problems, it is difficult to predict how and when attacks occur and no individual or organization is free from the risk of attacks. Thus proper understanding of information security is necessary before developing security solutions for various systems. This chapter gives an overview of information security and provide details of the essential concepts. Typically, attackers intend to achieve their goals by disabling a part or all of the following three major security objectives: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Security attacks on networks include a broad range based on diverse techniques. Some are direct types and some are indirect types. The following four types of attacks are common on networks: interception, modification, fabrication, and interruption. Authentication handles the problem of determining whether a client or server can be allowed access to a particular system resource.
