PHILADELPHIA, July 11, 2005 (PRNewswire) -- The Cyber Incident Detection Data Analysis Center (CIDDAC) has announced it has brought the first test group of RCADS (real-time cyber attack detection sensors) online at its national operations center in Philadelphia.
Launched in April 2005 to protect businesses and communities from criminal and terrorist use of the Internet, CIDDAC is being structured as the first real-time cyber threat sharing system to protect the nation's critical infrastructure. The CIDDAC operations center is at the University of Pennsylvania ISTAR (Institute of Strategic Threat Analysis and Response) laboratory.
CIDDAC Executive Director Charles "Buck" Fleming said bringing the RCADS online marks a crucial point in the development of the nonprofit organization.
"Several organizations that are part of the nation's critical infrastructure are now active participants in the pilot phase of CIDDAC," noted Fleming. "We're laying the foundation for trust and cooperation among private business, law enforcement and academia to facilitate real-time sharing of cyber attack data."
The testing is being conducted in cooperation with the ISTAR lab and the FBI.
"The FBI is participating by providing commentary on the useful nature of the information that we're producing," continued Fleming. "However, in order to ensure data privacy, the information provided to CIDDAC and the FBI will not include any corporate production data, nor will company identity be revealed."
A dynamic feature of CIDDAC is that it protects data privacy while compiling attack signatures. These signatures are subsequently profiled for the benefit of participating companies and institutions, and to allow government investigators to quickly identify, locate and neutralize cyber threats.
Another round of RCADS testing is scheduled to be complete by the end of July. This second test series will involve cyber attacks generated from around the country, with reports being reviewed and analyzed by the ISTAR lab. Based on the data gleaned from this phase, nationwide deployment plans will be refined. Live implementation will then commence in August at corporate locations participating in the pilot program.
Companies, organizations and government agencies -- federal, state and local -- that comprise the nation's critical infrastructure in sectors such as banking/finance, power, gas and oil, water, telecommunications, 911 services, transportation and government services are encouraged to participate in CIDDAC. For an annual fee, members receive one RCADS device for network deployment, a full year of 24/7/365 monitoring, direct access to the CIDDAC operations center, alert services, trend analysis reports and more.
The Cyber Incident Detection Data Analysis Center (www.ciddac.org) is a nonprofit organization established to manage an automated cyber attack early warning system. The CIDDAC prototype in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has been established to collect, analyze and respond to real-time cyber attacks against participating businesses. A fully operational CIDDAC will provide a unified defense against serious cyber threats while gathering critically needed data for research and development of real security solutions.
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