Text: Expanding Partnership Enhances U.S. Cybersecurity Efforts
(Homeland Security joins longstanding watchdog agency) (970)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Carnegie Mellon
University's CERT Coordination Center are forming a partnership to enhance
the nation's capabilities to prevent and respond to cyber attacks on the
Internet.
CERT is an Internet watchdog agency formed in 1988, working today to alert
U.S. industry and private computer users about real and potential threats
to online security. The center has been an important player in
coordinating responses to all the major virus and worm threats that have
plagued the Internet in recent years.
"The recent cyber attacks such as the Blaster worm and the SoBig virus
highlight the urgent need for an enhanced computer emergency response
program that coordinates national efforts to cyber incidents and attacks,"
DHS Secretary Tom Ridge said in a press release issued by the Software
Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, the parent agency of
CERT.
CERT and the National Cyber Security Division within DHS will form
US-CERT, which will expand to include partnerships with private sector
security vendors, domestic and international organizations.
Following is the text of the press release:
(begin text)
Software Engineering Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
Sept. 15, 2003,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Announces Partnership with Carnegie
Mellon's CERT Coordination Center
PITTSBURGH -- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced a
partnership with Carnegie Mellon University's CERT® Coordination Center
(CERT/CC) to create US-CERT, a coordination point for prevention,
protection, and response to cyber attacks across the Internet.
The US-CERT will begin as a partnership between the National Cyber
Security Division (NCSD) within DHS and Carnegie Mellon's CERT /CC. The
US-CERT will grow to include other partnerships with private-sector
security vendors and domestic and international organizations. These
groups will work together to coordinate national and international efforts
to prevent cyber attacks, protect systems, and respond to the effects of
cyber attacks across the Internet.
Carnegie Mellon's CERT/CC was formed in November 1988 within the Software
Engineering Institute (SEI) by the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) after an Internet worm brought 10 percent of
Internet-connected systems to a halt. The SEI is a federally funded
research and development center operated by Carnegie Mellon for the U.S.
Department of Defense, the Software Engineering Institute's sponsor.
CERT/CC also is affiliated with Carnegie Mellon's Cyber Security
Laboratory.
Today, Carnegie Mellon's CERT/CC alerts U.S. industry and computer users
worldwide to potential threats to the security of their systems and
provides information about how to avoid, minimize, or recover from the
damage. The center has played a key role in coordinating responses to
major security events such as the Code Red worm, Melissa virus, and most
recently the MS Blaster worm and the Sobig.F virus.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge called US-CERT "a key
element to our national strategy to combat terrorism and protect our
critical infrastructure."
"The recent cyber attacks such as the Blaster worm and the SoBig virus
highlight the urgent need for an enhanced computer emergency response
program that coordinates national efforts to cyber incidents and attacks,"
Ridge said.
Speaking at a briefing in Washington, D.C. today, Carnegie Mellon
University President Jared L. Cohon expressed enthusiasm for the
partnership between the CERT/CC and the Department of Homeland Security,
as well as its potential for future partnerships with industry and other
universities.
"Carnegie Mellon is proud and pleased to have this opportunity to work
with the Department of Homeland Security. We are committed to maintaining
our longstanding leadership in cyber security and to building additional
strength in this critical area," Cohon said.
"Our nation's growing use of the Internet for safety critical applications
as well as business transactions, coupled with the increased
sophistication and speed of cyber-attacks increases the risk that
cyber-attacks can cause significant damage in short periods of time" said
Richard D. Pethia, director of the CERT/CC. "We are pleased to have the
opportunity to work with DHS and other partners to aggressively and
continually improve our nation's cyber-security incident response
capability.
The Department of Homeland Security said that the creation of a US-CERT
was the first in a series of upcoming announcements on new partnerships
and initiatives within the National Cyber Security Division.
About Carnegie Mellon:
A top national research university, Carnegie Mellon University has one of
the most technologically sophisticated campuses in the world. Carnegie
Mellon's research and education program includes an extensive cyber
security laboratory initiative. The security initiative amplifies and
expands on two of the university's greatest strengths -- a willingness to
collaborate across departments and colleges, and a track record of working
closely with government, business, and other sectors.
Carnegie Mellon is a leader in the improvement of information security and
software quality and home to some of the world's top researchers in
engineering, computer science, public policy, and software engineering.
Carnegie Mellon is home to the Center for Computer and Communications
Security (C3S), a multidisciplinary center established to tackle the
challenges related to Internet security, data storage, and privacy issues.
C3S is led by Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Pradeep
Khosla.
About the SEI and the CERT/CC The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) is
a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Defense and operated by Carnegie Mellon University. The
SEI's core purpose is to help others make measured improvements in their
software engineering capabilities. The CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC)
is located at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). Following an
Internet worm incident that brought 10 percent of Internet systems to a
halt in November 1988, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) charged the SEI with setting up a center to coordinate
communication among experts during security emergencies and to help
prevent future incidents.
(end text)
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