Internet Privacy and Security Workshop
Call for Position Papers
An Invitational Workshop on Improving Internet Security
Haystack Observatory, MA
May 20-21
INVITATION
The Privacy and Security Working Group (PSWG) of the Federal Networking Council (FNC) and the Research Program on Communications Policy of the center for Technology, Policy, and Industrial Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will hold an invitational workshop at the Haystack Observatory outside of Boston, MA, on May 20-21, 1996. This workshop is intended to bring Federal, academic and private sector participants together in collaboration to develop strategies and potential solutions related to Internet privacy and security.
Though a principal focus of the workshop will be on the Federal portion of the Internet, the FNC recognizes that the Federal Internet is tightly coupled with the Global Internet, whose security policies, practices, and goals are complementary to those of the Federal Government. To define those practices, procedures and goals, the PSWG has undertaken two major initiatives:
- the Federal Internet Security Plan (FISP), which was developed as a scalable, continual improvement process, based on common principles and mechanisms compatible with Internet community values and needs; and
- the Collaborations in Internet Security (CIS) project, an effort aimed at testing the strength of agency approaches to security and moving these technologies beyond individual agency networking environments and into both inter-agency and agency-commercial sector communications. The CIS will result in the development of a new and sustainable process for developing, integrating, and deploying security technologies that are interoperable at all levels of the Federal government and within the commercial and academic sectors.
These initiatives are intended to highlight the critical interface between Federal and commercial users and developers of Internet services and technologies.
OBJECTIVES
This workshop will bring together principal players in the Federal and overall Internet community to discuss the problems and challenges of privacy and security on the Internet, and will:
- Identify critical issues, requirements, and recommendations related to future Internet privacy and security research and development efforts;
- Describe "best practice" approaches to Internet privacy and security;
- Develop specific strategies for implementing Internet Security programs involving all sectors of the Internet community;
- Extend the Federal Internet Security Plan (FISP) by defining specific implementations; and finally,
- Develop specific strategies for the migration of technologies from the individual RFC test stage to the integration of a complete functional managed system in the CIS test/demonstration/pilot projects.
SUBMISSIONS
Abstracts or complete paper drafts related to the topics listed above are welcome. Accepted papers will be a part of the published record of the workshop. All points of view on Federal policies affecting Internet privacy and security are welcomed. Please make all electonic submissions in ASCII format.
For further information or to submit an abstract or paper contact:
Internet Security and Privacy Workshop c/o Joseph Reagle
Research Program on Communications Policy
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
One Amherst St. (E40-218)
Cambridge, MA 02139
Voice: (617) 253-4138
Fax: (617) 253-7326
papers@rpcp.mit.edu
SCHEDULE and DEADLINES
Call for papers - March 14, 1996
Abstracts Due - April 14, 1996
Invitations to Participants - April 20, 1996
Revised/Completed papers due - May 19, 1996
Workshop - May 20-21, 1996
PARTICIPANTS
Participation in the workshop is by invitation, based primarily on submitted papers and abstracts. Additional individuals may be invited to ensure that participation reflects a broad cross-section of the Internet community.
PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Dennis Branstad - Trusted Information Systems (TIS)
Rich Pethia - Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Jeffrey Schiller - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Richard Solomon - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Rick Stevens - Department of Energy/Argonne National Labs (DOE)
STEERING COMMITTEE
Stephen Squires, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (FNC/PSWG Co-Chair)
Dennis Steinauer, National Institute of Standards and Technology (FNC/PSWG Co-Chair)
Tice DeYoung, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Phillip Dykstra, Army Research Laboratory (ARL)
Mike Green, National Security Agency (NSA)
George Seweryniak, Department of Energy (DOE)
Walter Wiebe, Federal Networking Council (FNC)
*********************
BACKGROUND
Federal Internet Security Plan: In September 1995, the PSWG published the draft Federal Internet Security Plan (FISP). The FISP is oriented toward a scalable, continual improvement process, based on common principles and mechanisms compatible with Internet community values and needs. See http://www.fnc.gov/SWG.html. The plan addresses Internet security requirements, including interoperability, from the perspective of the goals and objectives outlined in the National Performance Review (NPR), http://www.npr.gov/. The Federal Networking Council developed this framework in conjunction with its Advisory Committee which represents industry, academia, and non-profit sectors.
Action Items, from the FISP, to be addressed during the Workshop:
Internet Security Policy and Policy Support Activities
- Establish overall Internet security policies
- Address security in all Federally supported NII pilots
- Coordinate Internet community involvement
- Establish an ongoing Internet threat database and assessment capability
- Identify legal and law enforcement issues
Internet Security and Technology Development
- Develop an Internet security maturity model
- Develop Internet security architecture
- Enhance Internet security services and protocols
- Develop a "Secure-Out-of-the-Box" endorsement
- Enhance application security
Internet Security Infrastructure
- Establish a set of Internet security interoperability testbeds
- Support privacy, authentication, certificate, and security services pilots
- Establish Internet security testing and evaluation capabilities
- Improve security incident handling capabilities
- Develop security self-assessment capabilities
- Establish effective secure software and document distribution mechanisms
Education and Awareness
- Compile Internet user and site profiles
- Encourage use of available security technologies
- Establish an Internet security information server
- Establish an Internet security symposium/workshop series
- Establish an Internet security fellowship program
Collaborations in Internet Security: With the Federal government's ever-increasing dependency on computers and distributed systems, there is great urgency for it to develop and employ enhanced information system security technologies and practices. At the same time, these Federal technologies must interoperate with those of the broader Internet community (encompassing the private and academic sectors, along with the Federal sector).
In recognition of these needs, the Federal Networking Council's Privacy & Security Working Group (FNC/PSWG) has been awarded a National Performance Review (NPR) Innovation Fund grant to compare and validate agency approaches to security. This Collaborations in Internet Security (CIS) project aims to test the strength of these technologies beyond individual agency networking environments, emphasizing the inter-agency and agency-commercial sector communications. The CIS will result in the development of a new and sustainable process for developing, integrating, and deploying security technology that is interoperable at all levels of the Federal Government and within the commercial and academic sectors.
The governing principles behind the Security Testbeds include: employment of an open process (with the activities and results open to participation and comment by both public and private sector participants); a focus on multivendor technologies; an emphasis on testing and experimentally deploying security technologies emerging from research and private sectors as well as security technologies currently in use in the commercial environment; and an underlying objective to ensure interoperability among the broad Internet community (federal, private, and academic). Initial tests will include demonstrations of Kerberos v. 5, testing of single-use passwords, and digital signatures. For more information, please see (http://www.fnc.gov/cis_page.html)