INCORE Metadatabase Server - Technical Aspects and Constraints

IASSIST Quarterly The INCORE server was set up by the University of Ulster and the United Nations University to act as a central resource for academics, policy-makers and others concerned with conflict resolution and ethnicity across the globe. The server utilises Internet resources to make as widely available as possible information on ethnic conflict. However, like a lot of tools the Internet can be used for more than one purpose. In one sense it is a very flexible and open resource that allows users to log into numerous systems around the world, transferring files, searching file systems and executing programs. However once you are connected to the Internet it is also a way for other people to get into your system. If you restrict your workstation’ s access only to parts of the Internet , then you may find that there is a lot of useful resources and facilities that you can no longer access and use. In order to take advantage of the Internet you must be a part of it. However, as this paper will try t o demonstrate, by doing this you put your computer at risk, so you need to constantly keep abreast of the security holes in the network software installed in your system and protect it.