News for and about the Internet2 community

[Greg Wood <>]

HIGH-PERFORMANCE NETWORK SECURITY CENTER ESTABLISHED FOR RESEARCH AND 
EDUCATION

Indiana University center responds to "National Strategy to Secure 
Cyberspace" and higher education framework to improve network security

Washington, DC--February 21, 2003--The first higher education-focused 
Information Sharing Analysis Center today was established by Indiana 
University through an agreement with the National Infrastructure 
Protection Center (NIPC). The Research and Education Network Information 
Sharing Analysis Center (REN-ISAC) operated by Indiana University will 
focus on the high performance network infrastructure dedicated to 
research and education. The "National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace" 
announced by President Bush last week calls for establishing ISACs to 
facilitate communication, develop best practices, and disseminate 
security-related information.

"The agreement with the NIPC will facilitate the sharing of summary 
information and security research with other sectors, and, in addition, 
we will apply what we learn from the other sectors to the operation of 
the research and education networks," said Michael A. McRobbie, Indiana 
University Vice President for Information Technology and CIO. "One of 
IU’s cybersecurity goals is to use our expertise in this area to help 
improve the security of higher education networks in general through the 
REN-ISAC, which also then contributes to the security of the national 
infrastructure."

The REN-ISAC also supports the framework to improve information 
technology security at all colleges and universities developed last year 
by an expert working group drawn from the membership of EDUCAUSE and 
Internet2, the two major information technology organizations in higher 
education. Endorsed by leading national organizations for higher 
education, the five-point action framework includes raising the level of 
collaboration among higher education, industry and government, and 
integrating the work of higher education into the broader national 
effort to strengthen critical infrastructure.

EDUCAUSE Vice President Mark Luker said, "EDUCAUSE endorses the REN-ISAC 
for advanced network users as an important first step in translating 
principles of the cybersecurity framework into action for the higher 
education community. The EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Computer and Network 
Security Task Force will be developing additional resources and action 
plans to improve the security of all campuses’ information and network 
environments."

"Establishing the REN-ISAC demonstrates the higher education community’s 
commitment to making IT security a priority," said Douglas Van 
Houweling, President and CEO of the University Corporation for Advanced 
Internet Development, home of the Internet2 project and the Abilene 
network. "I am pleased that a member of the Internet2 community and the 
Abilene network are helping lead the way in the national effort to 
strengthen information technology infrastructure."
Network security is increasingly important to the research and education 
community's ability to use advanced networking capabilities to 
collaborate and access network-connected resources. In order to ensure 
continued excellent network service for the Internet2 community and 
Abilene-connected sites, the REN-ISAC will combine an expanded set of 
security services, including proactive security monitoring, assessment, 
and reporting.

These new services include around-the-clock monitoring of the Abilene 
network by NOC staff for security incidents, including distributed 
denial of service attacks sourced from, passed through, or waged against 
Abilene-connected sites, as well as analysis and reporting of virus 
outbreaks or behaviors that negatively impact network service provided 
to the Internet2 community. As these problems are identified, they will 
be analyzed and affected sites will be notified as soon as possible. In 
addition, all other Abilene-connected sites will receive a summary event 
report so that they may benefit from information discovered about these 
incidents.

Under the REN-ISAC agreement, the NIPC will provide information about 
threats, warnings, and actual attacks reported by other organizations 
under NIPC agreements concerning the national IT-infrastructure. In 
addition, summary information gleaned from the REN-ISAC’s analysis of 
network traffic anomalies that are likely to be related to security 
incidents will be transmitted to the NIPC and other sector ISACs, when 
appropriate.

For more information about the EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Computer and Network 
Security Task Force, and the complete "Information Technology Critical 
Infrastructure in Higher Education: A framework for action," see 
http://www.educause.edu/security/ and 
http://security.internet2.edu/ActionFramework.pdf

About Internet2(R)
Led by over 200 U.S. universities, working with industry and government, 
Internet2 is developing and deploying advanced network applications and 
technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the 
creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships 
among academia, industry, and government that helped foster today's 
Internet in its infancy. For more information see http://www.internet2.edu

About Indiana University
Indiana University is one of the oldest state universities in the 
Midwest and also one of the largest universities in the United States 
with more than 110,000 students, faculty and staff on eight campuses. IU 
has a growing national and international reputation in the areas of 
information technology and advanced networking. IU, at its Indianapolis 
campus, is home to the Abilene Network Operations Center as well as the 
Global Research Network Operations Center (Global NOC). For more 
information see http://www.indiana.edu

Contacts:
Internet2
Greg Wood
202-331-5360


Indiana University
Karen Adams
812-856-5596


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