Handbook of Information Security, Volume 1, Key Concepts, Infrastructure, Standards, and Protocols

Intranets: Principals, Privacy, and Security Considerations

William T. Schiano, Bentley College

Introduction

Features of an Intranet

Portal

Human Resource Management

Purchasing

Operations

Directories

Menus

Calendar Systems

Group Collaboration

Syndicated Data

Knowledge Management

Technology

Personalization

Content Management

Ease of Use

Building and Maintaining Secure Intranets

Standards versus Flexibility

Training and Support

Access and Control

Network Availability and Security

Implementation

Importance of Pilot Studies

Maintenance and Management

Cost/Benefit Calculations

Privacy

Conclusion

Glossary

Cross References

References

INTRODUCTION

An intranet is defined by the use of Internet technologies (HTTP, TCP/IP, FTP, SMTP) within an organization. By contrast, the Internet is a global network of networks connecting myriad organizations. The line becomes blurred when an internal system is opened to remote access, and parts of the system are made available to customers and suppliers. This extension of an intranet to selected outsiders is often called an extranet. Many of the applications accessed over intranets are run on ERP systems such as Oracle, Peoplesoft, and SAP that also service external users.

As wired and wireless connectivity continue to develop, distinctions among types of systems will become increasingly artificial and contrived, just as the once clear distinctions among hardware such as personal computers, servers, and minicomputers have lost meaning. When reading this ...