A screened subnet for interconnecting an intranet to the Internet includes first and second subnets. A first firewall provides a first level of protection to a portion of the first subnet and to the second subnet while a second firewall provides a second level of protection to the second subnet. A secured utility VLAN provides utility services for the portion of the first subnet and/or the second subnet. The secured utility VLAN is coupled to the screened subnet such that it enjoys an additional level of protection relative to the subnets and/or the portion thereof which it serves. In various embodiments thereof, the screened subnet is configured to include a single, shared, secured utility VLAN for servicing both the portion of the first subnet and the second subnet, or a pair of discrete secured utility VLANs for respectively servicing the portion of the first subnet and the second subnet.