RNP > RNP News > 2001 News

CAIS joins worldwide security group

In 2001, RNP's Security Response Incident Team (CAIS) joined the most important security group in the world, the FIRST (Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams). The consortium was founded in 1990, and it gathers around a hundred security teams from almost all over the world. In order to become a member, the CAIS had the support of Cert-Renater, the security team of the French academic network.

The participation in the FIRST is advantageous, for it projects RNP's team worldwide and permits greater cooperation with security groups from other countries and the privileged access to information about security incidents and vulnerability. Consequently, it ends up being beneficial to all the Brazilian network since the CAIS has the habit of spreading, whenever possible, public warnings about security incidents and their solutions.

The CAIS's major role is to register and follow security problems in RNP's backbone and Points of Presence, including helping identify invasions and repair the damage caused by the invaders. It is intrinsically connected to the Network and System Security Project, whose actions include the creation of security policies in the academic network; the evaluation and security tests in the PoPs; the generation and analysis of statistics of security incidents; and the implantation of secure networks in RNP's units and PoPs. This project also involves RNP's Operation Support Service (OSS).

More security in RNP's network

The purpose of the "secure networks" action is to reinforce the security of the corporate network using resources that can act in different levels. Such resources include: the configuration of a firewall and a system of intruder detection; safe configuration of operational systems and applications; log storage and treatment; implantation of cryptography and authentication mechanisms permitting remote access; and the exchange of information among the offices of the institution in a safe way. Throughout the year, RNP configurated the networks of its four units to operate according to the goals established. Parallelly, the PoPs were tested and training initiatives took place.

Hierarchization of the NTP service concluded

In July 2000, RNP started its Network Time Protocol (NTP) service. The NTP service is fundamental to manage networks since it permits the synchronization of the clocks of the hooked equipment using a reference accepted worldwide, known as UTC (Universal Time Coordinated). The NTP server installed by RNP is a stratum 1; that is to say, it is directly connected to a reference clock. In the hierarchy of NTP servers, the stratum 1 is the most precise one that there can be.

Still at the end of the year 2000, RNP started the configuration of a hierarchy of NTP servers with the function of distributing the processing load, ensuring a stabler and more reliable service to the final user. For this purpose, the CAIS established the guidelines of the project, defining who could apply to be a stratum 2, spread information about the supply of the service and the configuration of the servers, and set goals.

In the middle of 2001, with 28 stratum 2 servers already connected, RNP restricted the access to its NTP stratum 1 server to those who want to offer this kind of service, according to the policy defined by the CAIS.

[RNP, 12.21.2001]