SECURITY SPECIAL

The recent rash of devastating distributed Denial of Service attacks has brought home the message that system security is something network managers neglect at their peril. Some of the world's most prestigious e-business sites, including Yahoo!, eBay, Amazon and E-Trade, have all fallen victim to last month's round of attacks.

However, as more and more cracking tools become easily available, it is clear the menace will continue. There is no room for complacency when implementing security infrastructures and this week Network News focuses on the complex task of protecting your systems from both internal and external threats.

We aim to guide readers through the complex maze of hardware, software and best practice that combine to create a holistic and effective security policy.

Our team of experts offers you news, analysis and comment on the latest developments in this fast-moving security sector.

Supported by our experts in VNU's European Labs we have taken the latest leading firewalls on the market and put them through their paces in our independent Benchtest (see page 29).

No matter what size of network you have, in this week's Top Tips (see page 53) Ken Mann provides essential advice on how to optimise your firewall in order to get the best security possible.

In our technical briefing paper (see page 44) Nick Farrell provides an in-depth analysis of the recent Denial of Service attacks and what options are available to network managers in order to counter this new threat.

In addition we will provide impartial advice on how to select the best of breed products to maximise security.