Business And The Internet Essay Research Paper

Business And The Internet Essay, Research Paper

Business and the InternetThesis: The Internet is a safe and profitable environment for companies to do business. I.History of the Internet. A. The beginning of the Advanced Research Projects Agency. B. The Advanced Research Projects Agency mission. C. Converting the Advanced Research Projects Agency s network into the Internet. D. The introduction to the World Wide Web. II. Security Issues on the Internet A. Realizing the threat of computer hackers. B. Considerations for security systems. III. Securing financial transactions. A. Information flowing on the Internet can be susceptible to security problems. B. Larger corporations have endorsed Secure Sockets Layer as a secure means of transmitting financial transactions. C. Secure Courier is another alternative for securing financial transactions. D. Firewalls can be used to help with security within a businesses network. IV. Conducting business over the Internet. A. The Internet offers an abundance of possibilities for businesses. B. Considerations for businesses conducting business on the Internet. V. Connecting a business to the Internet. A. Connecting to the Internet using a dial-up account with a provider. B. Connecting to the Internet using SLIP/PPP. C. Connecting to the Internet using a leased-line connection. Business and the Internet What is the Information Superhighway. Is this some kind of road with anabundance of signs and billboards telling of important information. Actually, when peoplerefer to the Information Superhighway, they are really talking about the Internet. TheInternet is a massive web of computers that are connected together. This web of computerscovers the entire world. Many businesses are intimidated by the Internet fearing that thereis not enough security. These types of businesses will find that by following simplesecurity rules and picking the correct type of connection, the Internet is a safe andprofitable environment for companies to do business. President Dwight D. Eisenhower saw the need for the Advanced Research ProjectsAgency (ARPA) after the Soviet Union’s 1957 launch of Sputnik (Baker 15). Theorganization united some of America’s most brilliant people, who developed the UnitedStates’ first successful satellite in 18 months. Several years later ARPA began to focus oncomputer networking and communications technology. In 1962, Dr. J.C.R. Licklider was chosento head ARPA’s research in improving the military’s use of computer technology (Baker 17). Licklider was a visionary who sought to make the government’s use of computers moreinteractive. To quickly expand technology, Licklider saw the need to move ARPA’s contractsfrom the private sector to universities and laid the foundations for what would become theARPANET (Baker 15). ARPA (now DARPA) is still one of the primary sources of research forthe Department of Defense (Baker 18). Its mission statement reflects the commitment totechnological advancement. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) is the central research anddevelopment organization for the Department of Defense (DoD). It manages and directsselected basic and applied research and development projects for DoD, and pursuesresearch and technology where risk and payoff are both very high and where success mayprovide dramatic advances for traditional military roles and missions and dual-useapplications (Badget 10). Consequently, the ARPA mission is to develop imaginative,innovative and often high risk research ideas offering a significant technological impactthat will go well beyond the normal evolutionary developmental approaches; and, to pursuethese ideas from the demonstration of technical feasibility through the development ofprototype system. In 1969, the United States Department of Defense assigned ARPA to experimentwith the linkage between Department of Defense and military research contractors. TheDepartment of Defense directed ARPA to develop a system of communication that couldresist interruptions caused by enemy attacks. In the early 1970s, ARPA directed StanfordUniversity to begin experimentation in multiple network packet-switching technology (Baker16). Packet-switching technology was very effective when network connections wereunreliable. An experiment in 1977 among four government networks demonstrated thefeasibility of the technology. This research resulted in the development of the TCP/IPprotocol suite. By January, 1983, the TCP/IP protocol had become the standard communicationsprotocol. The National Science Foundation established the NSFNET program in 1985. TheFoundation’s interest in computer connectivity resulted from the inception of theSupercomputer Center’s program. The Supercomputer Center program required the use ofa high speed transmission backbone to connect researchers to the supercomputer centers. Avariety of reasons prevented the ARPANET from serving in this capacity. Therefore, theNational Science Foundation developed its own backbone with the help of the MERIT program(University of Michigan), MCI and IBM. The backbone included a large number smaller regionalnetworks that connected many of the nation’s research institutions. By 1990, the NSFNET hadbecome the dominant network, leading to the downfall of the ARPANET. The regional networksusing the NSFNET backbone created the foundation for the Internet as we know it today. Theprimary focus of the NSFNET was not-for- profit research and development. The NSFNET had an”ac