Community of interest (computer security)

A COI can be defined as a logical or physical grouping of network devices or users with access to information that should not be made available to the general user population on a LAN or WAN infrastructure. A COI can be used to provide multiple levels of protection for a LAN or WAN infrastructure from the activities within a COI. A COI can consist of a logical perimeter around the community (or enclave). It can allow for separate security management and operational direction. COI's generally do not dictate separate internal security policies (e.g., password policies, etc.) because they fall under the jurisdiction and management of the LAN or WAN owners. However, they can and often do have a laxed subset of the overall Network security policy. The terms "Segregation Mechanism" and "Security Mechanism" for the purposes of this article are interchangeable. The COI segregates in order to achieve security.

A distinction between the CoP's and the CoI's

A CoP may operate with any of the following attributes:

Often CoIs span similar organizations (e.g., DoD, particularly when there is a common interest in an outcome).

Individual members may be expected to:

COI security requirements can range in sophistication from simple network file shares to an interconnection of physically separate sites that are connected via dedicated communication circuits. COI security mechanisms and the respective basic characteristics are identified in the Table. These security mechanisms may be utilized individually and in combinations to provide the requisite security for each COI. COI architecture can overlay the existing LAN or WAN architecture in order to maximize the use of existing resources and to provide the required COI separation in the most efficient manner.

COIs that require additional dedicated physical resources (e.g., dedicated router, VPN and firewalls devices) are usually more complex in nature and expensive to operate because of the added network devices and the personnel to operate and manage them. They also add the benefit of more security utilizing the defense in depth approach. A COI does not necessarily imply a physical separation of the infrastructure, but can do so.

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