[118689] in Cypherpunks
IP: Financial Cyber-Warning System Launched
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Robert Hettinga)
Tue Oct 5 20:58:11 1999
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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 18:54:22 -0400
To: dcsb@ai.mit.edu, cryptography@c2.net, cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
From: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
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From: believer@telepath.com
Date: Tue, 05 Oct 1999 07:38:03 -0500
To: ignition-point@precision-d.com
Subject: IP: Financial Cyber-Warning System Launched
Sender: owner-ignition-point@precision-d.com
Reply-To: believer@telepath.com
Source: APB News
http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/internetcrime/1999/10/04/security1004_01.h
tml?s=daily
Financial Cyber-Warning System Launched
Aims to Protect Nation's Economic Infrastructure
Oct. 4, 1999
By David Noack
WASHINGTON (APBnews.com) -- A new cyber-attack alert network has been
launched to help protect the nation's financial system by warning members
whenever any of them learn they have come under fire from hackers or other
cyber-saboteurs.
The new information-sharing system, called the Financial Services
Information Sharing and Analysis Center, was unveiled Friday as an attempt
to help prevent, detect and respond to attacks against the industry's
critical economic infrastructure.
The project will be managed by a private contractor and funded by the
participating financial institutions, which range from banks to mutual fund
companies. The aim is to share computer security information anonymously
and quickly with the financial institutions so they can take security
measures.
"New threats call for new types of solutions," said Treasury Secretary
Lawrence Summers, announcing the network.
An uncertain future
Related Link:
Infrastructure Assurance Center
When he first joined the Treasury Department, said Summers, there was
little talk of threats to the nation's financial system from "viruses,
Trojan horses, logic bombs or malicious code."
For the most part, cyber-attacks have been the work of individuals, but can
eventually be the result of a more coordinated effort.
"We face a future where criminals, terrorists or even nation-states may use
the same tools in a more organized way for darker purposes," said Summers.
The public-private partnership was launched in response to Presidential
Decision Directive 63 -- known as PDD-63 -- which directs Treasury
officials to take the lead in getting the banking and financial industries
to secure their information systems.
So far, 12 financial services organizations have signed a letter confirming
their interest in participating in the project. They are: Citigroup, Bank
of America, Bank of New York, DTC, Vanguard, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley,
JP Morgan, Fidelity, Sun Trust, SIAC and the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
62 percent reported security breaches
In explaining the need for the network, Treasury officials cited a study
released earlier this year by the Computer Security Institute that looked
at data compiled in 1998. The study found 62 percent of companies reported
computer security breaches.
The intrusions included an array of serious attacks such as system
penetration by outsiders, unauthorized access by insiders and theft of
proprietary information. Thirty-two percent of the companies reported
"denial of service" attacks, 19 percent reported sabotage of data or
networks, and 14 percent reported financial fraud.
David Noack is an APBnews.com staff writer (david.noack@apbnews.com).
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-----------------
Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
