European Centre for Early Warning of Internet Threats
(CEWIT)
news alert (excerpt)
London, UK - 3 February 2003, 15:00 GMT - The mi2g Intelligence
Unit has identified a clear and present need for a Europe wide Centre for
Early Warning of Internet Threats - CEWIT.
CEWIT would play a similar role to a weather centre that European industries
and governments could rely on in the event of Internet based storms that threaten
to slow down or disrupt ICT infrastructure. Ideally, improved prevention and
counter measures could be taken as a result across all industries in Europe.
The CEWIT hub would be a major leap in the EU's capability to achieve real-time
visual tracking of the Internet's health. No investment has been made in this
area even though substantial parts of the EU economy are dependent on ICT
(IT, Communications and Telecoms).
CEWIT is necessary in the 21st century because:
1. The most up-to-date anti-virus tool kits, firewalls and intrusion detection
systems do not appear to work satisfactorily when software vulnerabilities
have been targeted by malware or hackers;
2. Even though patches may have been applied on the most obvious machines
within large networks, there are always hidden software components which do
not get patched and succumb to hacker and malware attack with significant
collateral damage;
3. When a fast spreading malware or automated tool attack propagates across
the global ICT network it may not be possible to prevent the resultant damage
and denial of service without battening down the hatches and closing down
ports of individual networks for the duration of the critical period.
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