Over the past few years, as networks have become ubiquitous and intricately intertwined, security issues have pushed to the forefront of concern for everyone involved, including end users, administrators and equipment suppliers. Despite the collaborative efforts that have brought about improved network security measures, the covert actions of hackers and cyberterrorists continue to pose a serious threat.

For example, in 1998, hackers were able to penetrate government computers and gain "root" access -- meaning they had the capability to shut the systems down, steal or alter confidential information. In 1999, the Melissa macro virus caused at least $80 million in damage and affected networks and systems worldwide.

In 2000, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks have emerged as the latest threat to globally linked networks. In just the few months since their first appearance, DoS attacks have already taken some of the most popular e-commerce sites off-line for several hours, causing enormous losses and repair costs.