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

Extranets: Applications, Development, Security, and Privacy

Stephen W. Thorpe, Neumann College

Introduction

Strategic Uses of Extranets

Business-to-Business E-Commerce

Collaboration with Business Partners

Internal Efficiencies

Planning and Implementing an Organizational Extranet

Defining the Purpose for an Extranet

Content Management Strategy

Outsourcing the Extranet

Security and Information Privacy

Risk Assessment

Information Use and Privacy

Goals of an Extranet Security Plan

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

Demilitarized Zones (DMZs)

Conclusion

Glossary

Cross References

References

INTRODUCTION

The Internet is a wide-area network that consists of thousands of organizational networks worldwide. The Internet became popular in the 1990s with the advent of the “World Wide Web.” The Web provides information stored on servers connected to the Internet. Web browsers, such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer, provide interfaces to interpret and display the Web pages. Documents accessible on the Web contain hyperlinks to move from one document to another. The benefits of the Internet include the ability to discover information more quickly and in larger volumes as well as increased opportunities for communication with individuals and groups. It is hard to imagine an organization today that does not have access to the Internet or does not maintain its own organizational Web site. In the early days of the Internet, an organizational presence on the Web provided a competitive ...