Information Sharing for IT Security Professionals
Rodney J. Petersen · The EDUCAUSE quarterly/EDUCAUSE quarterly · 2008
© 2008 rodney J. Petersen T he information technology security field puts a lot of emphasis on a layered approach to protecting data networks. Given the growth these past few years in the number of IT security professionals hired by colleges and universities, we need to come up with a similar strategy to promote and protect the human network—a support system of information sharing among individuals and groups with a common interest in security issues. The EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Computer and Network Security Task Force (http:// www.educause.edu/security) focuses on organizing the higher education community to develop effective informationsharing mechanisms. At a recent EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Security Professionals Conference, EDUCAUSE staff conducted interviews with several attendees to learn how they became acclimated to the profession and to ask what advice they would give new security professionals. Not surprisingly, they overwhelmingly observed that the key to success is to establish a network of like-minded individuals or groups to whom you can turn for advice and support. Education and prior experience might help you obtain a position as a new security professional, but the most critical investment you can make once on the job is to establish and sustain a human network of resources that will serve you throughout your career. Information sharing is not limited to identifying technical vulnerabilities or reporting security incidents, although information sharing at the response stage is critically important. Information sharInformation Sharing for IT Security Professionals