Overview of Secure IP Communication with IPSec in Windows 2000 (231585)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
This article was previously published under Q231585 SUMMARY
Windows Internet Protocol security (IPSec) is designed to encrypt data as it travels between two computers, protecting the data from modification and interpretation if anyone were to see it on the network. IPSec is a key line of defense against internal, private network, and external attacks. Although most network security strategies have focused on preventing attacks from outside an organization's network, a great deal of sensitive information can be lost by internal attacks that interpret data on the network. Most data is not protected when it travels across the network, so employees, supporting staff members, or visitors may be able to plug into your network and copy data for later analysis. They can also mount network-level attacks against other computers. Firewalls offer no protection against such internal threats, so using IPSec offers significantly greater security for corporate data.
IP Security is a Security service that gives administrators the ability to monitor traffic, examine addresses, and apply various security methods to the IP data packet regardless of which program generates the data.
Using IP filtering, IPSec examines all IP packets for addresses, ports, and transport protocols. Rules contained in local or group policies tell IP Security to ignore or secure specific packets, depending on addressing and protocol information.
Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 11/21/2003 |
---|
Keywords: | kbenv kbinfo KB231585 |
---|
|