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In the virtual world of on-line banking, shopping and transfer of sensitive information; such as medical, personal records or commercially sensitive information, Digital Certificates are a way of validating and verifying an entities digital identity. This type of sensitive data is usually encrypted (scrambled) when it is transferred over the internet using digital keys and unscrambled by the recipient. Digital Certificates are virtual documents that carry the senders digital key and are themselves signed using the Certificate issuers digital key. This gives the sender of the data some level of comfort that the data will not be read by anyone other than the recipient and the recipient in turn can be sure that the data has not been modified in transit.

Organisations need a security policy for the same reason they need a policy about annual leave, emergency procedures and daily book keeping. Unless it's written down and effectively communicated to your colleagues and staff no-one knows anything about the policy and what is required of them.

The internet industry is working with government agencies at all levels, consumers, users and individual companies to build public confidence in online transactions.

eSecurity Week is a Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts initiative designed to raise the awareness of users to the need to actively address and then manage their computer security. The IIA is supporting this timely initiative by mounting a separate Get Net Safe campaign in support.

Ensuring security in cyberspace is a major issue in the uptake of electronic commerce and the development of the Internet for both business and individuals. The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy maintains a website to address many of these issues.

Firewalls, whether provided as a software or hardware solution, are a crucial element in preventing hacking. They manage and/or prevent information going out of your computer and more importantly what comes in.

Many of the threats to computer security are aimed at prejudicing the infrastructure or operating systems. Users need to make their systems more robust.

Managing internet and IT risks must be a high priority for all - no matter how large or small your business is.

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More computers and more systems now incorporate wirless technology as a matter of course. This page is designed to provide expert advice on protecting your system from unauthorised access.