FBI, NCSA launch National Center for Digital Intrusion Response
Cybersecurity center to develop techniques, tools for law enforcement
URBANA—The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the FBI will collaborate to research, develop and deploy new techniques and tools for cybersecurity. The new effort, called the National Center for Digital Intrusion Response (NCDIR / http://www.ncdir.us), will receive $3 million from the FBI for its first two years of operation.
“This effort will benefit the scientists, engineers, and other researchers who use cyber-resources at NCSA and other federal centers by protecting the cyberinfrastructure they rely on,” said NCSA Director Thom Dunning. “NCSA and the University of Illinois have been and continue to be at the forefront of developing, deploying, and safeguarding advanced computing resources.”
Digital intrusions are complex, often involving multiple hosts and organizations and crossing state and national borders. Tracking an intruder through that maze, and sorting the critical information from the noise, is difficult. Additionally, the stakes are high. Hacking incidents may once have been pranks pulled by technologically adept teens but are now most likely to be the actions of highly organized professional criminals in search of confidential information (like credit card numbers, scientific data or passwords) or those seeking to use the power of the Internet to compromise the security of the United States.
The goal of NCDIR is to understand what new capabilities are required to better detect and investigate cyberattacks, to develop new tools, and to ensure that FBI agents in the field can use them effectively.
“So much of our vital economic and national security infrastructure relies on the Internet that it has effectively become the nation’s nervous system,” stated James E. Finch, the Assistant Director leading the FBI’s Cyber Division. “Partnerships such as this one have become a key component of our strategy for securing it.”
“It’s about understanding what’s needed to solve cases and protect the cyberinfrastructure which is so critical to our national way of life,” explains Von Welch, leader of NCSA’s Security Research and Development division and a member of NCDIR’s leadership team. “NCDIR has evolved from the decade-long engagement NCSA has had with the FBI, which has included working with them on multiple investigations, often leading to arrests.”
Through NCDIR, NCSA staff and FBI agents will collaboratively tackle on-going FBI investigations, applying:
- NCSA’s 22 years of experience protecting a high-performance computing environment from cyber-attacks.
- The center’s expertise in working with communities to develop advanced technologies and software for data analysis, visualization, collaboration, and communication.
- The FBI’s unique skill and experience in cyber investigations involving threats to the national security as well as complex criminal matters.
Working together on these cases will help the NCDIR team determine what new capabilities law enforcement officers need to more effectively respond to cyberattacks. These requirements will determine what new technologies NCDIR researchers develop.
“We are very excited about the opportunities offered by partnering with such knowledgeable and trusted colleagues,” said John H. Stafford, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Springfield Division. “NCSA brings to the table an extraordinary level of experience in navigating the complex landscape of the Internet, which NCDIR will leverage to advance the capabilities of the FBI. This will serve to bring to justice not only sophisticated criminal organizations, but also to better defend cyberspace against terrorist attacks and hostile intelligence organizations.”
Training will be an important component of NCDIR. While cyberattacks were once considered a specialized niche in law enforcement, today there are digital aspects to many crimes and national security threats; all investigators must be able to pursue criminals operating in cyberspace. NCDIR will provide training, including intensive summer workshops, so all FBI agents have the opportunity to use these new tools in the field.
NCDIR builds on NCSA’s extensive involvement in cybersecurity. NCSA leads the National Center for Advanced Secure Systems Research and collaborates with other University of Illinois researchers through the Information Trust Institute. With support from the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies, NCSA has developed and deployed tools including MyProxy (for grid credential management), FLAIM (log anonymization), GridShib (identity federation for grids). The center also has worked to improve critical cyberinfrastructure through projects such as the NSF-funded TCIP (trusted cyberinfrastructure for the power grid) project and the Illinois Terrorism Task Force’s First Responder’s Credentialing project.
For more information on NCDIR, see http://www.ncdir.us.
About NCSA
NCSA™ (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) is a unique state-federal partnership to develop and deploy national-scale cyberinfrastructure that advances science and engineering. Located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, NCSA is one of the leading National Science Foundation-supported supercomputing centers. Additional support comes from the state of Illinois, the University of Illinois, private sector partners, and other federal agencies. For more information, see http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/.
|