Inverted Network

An inverted network is a network security philosophy that focuses on the core of an enterprise network rather than the perimeter. Where traditional network security revolves around firewalls and intrusion detection systems that prevent threats from the outside world, an inverted network philosophy is concerned about inside threats, and so focuses more on techniques like encryption.

The inverted network philosophy maintains that employees need and expect instant access to corporate network resources, and that an SSL VPN connection intelligently allows such access while maintaining security by monitoring who (authentication) the employee is and where (verification of known geographical location) he or she is located.

Another way of thinking about an inverted network is to throw out the idea that nodes within the LAN are safe. It's not just about letting the bad guys in, but making sure that threats internally are dealt with.