Check Point UTM-1 Edge User Manual page 57

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Emerging technology today allows an organization's branch offices to
communicate, share data, and even establish low-cost VoIP (Voice over IP)
communications, rather then using the traditional phone system.
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Applications are hosted on a main computer rather than on personal
workstations. This helps organizations share application resources. For example,
in service departments, the customer database is located on a main computer,
while all customer relations transactions are managed by software clients
running on the agents' computers.
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In order to withdraw money from any ATM machine, your PIN and the details
on your magnetic card are scanned and verified against the details on the main
bank computer.
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A department store in New York can query the inventory of the main warehouse
located in Chicago and enter orders for missing products, all in real time.
In other words, on top of the damage done by computer information theft or abuse,
unauthorized access to a computer or a computer network can seriously damage the entire
organization's essential operations, communications, and productivity. For example:
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An online store's Web site can be hacked, so customers cannot enter orders.
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An unauthorized user can take advantage of an organization's email server to
send unsolicited bulks of email. As a result, the organization's Internet
communication lines will be overloaded, and employees in the organization will
be unable to send or receive emails.
Since computer and network security has become a central part of information and general
security, security managers must either have an understanding of computers and
networking, or work closely with network administrators and network security specialists.
Chapter 2: UTM-1 Security
Introduction to Information Security
43