J2EE™ Security for Servlets, EJBs and Web Services: Applying Theory and Standards to Practice

Computers, Networks and the Internet

The threats identified in the last section are closely linked with the structure and weaknesses of IT systems consisting of computers, applications, networks, and the Internet. These IT systems are extremely complex and are changing rapidly. A complete description of all its myriad pieces and their interactions is beyond the scope of this book. However, a basic understanding of the building blocks and the underlying architecture is needed for subsequent discussion.

We suspect that most of the readers of this book are already familiar with this architecture; still, for the sake of completeness, we decided to include a brief description with focus on elements crucial for understanding security needs and solutions. ...