Oracle Security

Evaluating Web Assets and Risks

In Chapter 7, we looked at the steps you could take to generate and implement an effective and enforceable security approach. Before you establish a web site, you need to consider the potential risks and benefits involved with hosting such a site. You will want to decide how secure your site really needs to be and how much it will cost, both in actual cash outlay for software and in the number of hours it will take to implement and maintain the degree of security you need to keep your site safe.

As with every area of computing, there are specific potential risks involved with hosting a web site. There are several different forms of losses to your computer system and Oracle database that could be suffered if someone manages to break into your system. Some of these risks are:

• Loss of the operating system and its contents from a virus

• Loss of data

• Financial loss (if another company obtains data from your system, giving them a competitive edge)

• Cost in both personnel effort during recovery and delay of access to data if damage occurs

• Loss of personal (or personnel) privacy

An intranet can be either stand-alone or connected to the Internet. If your intranet is a stand-alone system, the risk of the system or database being compromised is potentially reduced. If your intranet is connected to the Internet, the risk is much greater. The larger the Internet to which you are connected, the greater the risk becomes. The Internet is very global and many of the ...