Integration of security services into networks: Comparing TCP/IP-security and ATM-security

Telecommunication increasingly influences the way we live, work, and socialize. Buzzword such as the Internet or broadband networks are omnipresent-so are reports of security breaches. Security services are indispensable to the emerging suite of applications as divers as electronic commerce, linking company networks, telemedicine, and so forth. Whereas application built-in security services are widely spread, such as the integration of cryptographic functions into email clients or Web browsers, the diversity of applications carried over public networks strives for concepts that view upon security as an integral part of the network protocol stack. In this paper, we present two standards that enable network built-in security services: On the one hand, IP security is discussed. On the other hand, security services in ATM networks are addressed. The key concepts of both approaches are sketched and--although IP and ATM significantly differ---common aspects of IPSEC and ATM security are described.