Issues in high-speed Internet security

With global Internet access, people and organizations can share information instantly. Unfortunately, such access also leaves the Internet vulnerable to malicious actions that can cripple computers, businesses, governments, and lives on a scale never before possible. Hackers, worms, and viruses can unleash attacks with electronic as well as physical, economic, and safety ramifications. Over the past decade, the threat of computer worms and viruses has grown from a nuisance to perhaps the greatest obstacle to the growth and reliability of the Internet and large networks in general. As the SQL Slammer worm proved, current high-speed security solutions are immature and ineffective. Protecting networks against such fast-moving threats requires a new paradigm that offers flexibility, high performance, and speed.