Aussies chair Asian wargames

15.01.2007
The Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT) completed its third annual test drill last month with the Australian Computer Emergency Response Team (AusCERT) acting as chair of the event and working group.

Around 15 computer security incident response teams (CSIRT) from China, Brunei, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Taipei, Hong Kong and Vietnam participated in the war game held on December 19, with the objective of testing existing incident response locally and internationally to Internet-based attacks.

The scenario involved a situation where Web sites were infecting computers with malicious code to create a global DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack directed at e-commerce sites. Participants were required to share information regarding incidents, and detect or shut down systems hosting malware or launching DDoS attacks. In some countries major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and law enforcement agencies were involved in the drill.

Graham Ingram, chair of APCERT and director of AusCERT, said the drill is designed to review and improve procedures.

"The drill is important for us to have a chance to share the common experience on cross-border incident handling and helps us refine and test the points of contacts and procedures we have established to share and respond to active Internet attacks in progress," Ingram said.

"The reality is that APCERT members are already very active in helping each other respond to Internet attacks within our respective economies, hence drills like this help us improve our procedures and ensure that we are prepared to help each other as best we can."