U.S., Aussie security centers sign pact

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://investor.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-6939066-0.html?tag=ats

By: Robert Lemos
8/21/01 9:50 AM
Source: News.com  

Two groups that disseminate and analyze information about
computer-security incidents in the United States and Australia
announced Tuesday they will work together to develop better tools and
techniques for protecting corporate and national networks.

The network-security information clearinghouses, known as Computer
Emergency Response Teams, or CERTs, have worked together in the past
on an informal basis, said Jeffrey Carpenter, manager of the U.S. CERT
Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University.

"It is not the first time we have ever had an agreement with a
response team in another country," he said. "However, in the past,
those agreements have been for a specific task."

CERT and AusCERT plan to release joint advisories and work together on
creating new tools and techniques to combat threats to the Internet.

The announcement follows the panic caused by the emergence of the
fast-spreading Internet worm known as Code Red more than a month ago,
which apparently first infected a server at a university in China. In
fact, almost 40 percent of the incidents that CERT handles each year
become international problems.

The international nature of computer security threats means response
centers must also work across national borders, said Carpenter.

"Incident activity is not limited to the U.S. border," he said. "It is
important for us to have formal agreements with organizations in other
countries."

Sponsored by the Department of Defense and the General Services
Administration as well as several member companies, the CERT
Coordination Center has become a key information exchange for
companies and organization worried about their network security.

CERT's main duties include collecting information about
vulnerabilities, analyzing that information and prioritizing the
findings. The group also analyzes incident data collected by several
government agencies.

While this is the first formal agreement between such groups, there
will be more, said Carpenter.

"We are looking to sign agreements with response teams with other
countries," he said.



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