Members of the "Fingerprint Sharing Alliance" include corporate
giants
MCI
,
BT
, Asia Netcom and
EarthLink.
Using a system developed by security firm Arbor Networks, the
Alliance represents the first automated mechanism for sharing and
receiving threat and attack information, and is a response to an
increase in the number of denial of service attacks, computer
viruses and worms.
The technology, called Peakflow, is used to monitor networks and
identify any abnormal patterns in the data flow. This pattern is
then "fingerprinted", and the profile sent to other members of the
Alliance.
"When an attack hits, time is of the essence. By sharing the
attack details providers are better able to protect their customers
as the attack is mitigated closer to the point of origin, thus
preventing collateral damage," said Tom Schuster, president of
Arbor Networks.
Until now, says Arbor, the industry has had to rely on a system
of e-mails and telephone calls in responding to internet
threats.
"We're seeing more technology-savvy criminals trying to make
money through denial of service extortion schemes," said Senior
Yankee Group Analyst Jim Slaby. "Service providers that are
cooperating by sharing attack fingerprints are helping mitigate
these threats more quickly and closer to the source, thus making
the internet a more secure place."
