Academic Security SIG
Mission
Most academic security teams face similar problems, challenges and difficulties on regards to information security. However, currently there is no worldwide platform created specifically for academic security collaboration. The proposal of this new SIG is to create a new space for discussion in order to reflect on our collective experiences, focus on current challenges and envision strategies on how we could work together to improve security in academic environments, including Research & Education, NREN & University CERTs, and Infrastructures.
The SIG is aiming at:
- Providing a discussion forum where ideas, knowledge and experiences are shared in the area of security;
- Facilitating the exchange of data and information related to security incidents or others of interest to the group;
- Creating and disseminating best practices in security, suitable for academic environments;
- Mapping and integrating existing databases of security contact points;
- Facilitating the response to security incidents in an agile and coordinated way;
- Collaborating on strategies for raising user awareness and security competence within the academic environment;
- Evaluating and mitigating risks resulting from academic identity federation and collaborative services (e.g. GRID);
- Cooperating with other regional and global similar initiatives (GÉANT TF-CSIRT and SIG-ISM, CEO-Forum Global NREN Security Group, Educause Cybersecurity Initiative, REN-ISAC etc);
- Interacting and collaborating with other FIRST SIGs.
Goals & Deliverables
In year one, the SIG will announce its existence in order to promote the new group and start discussions within the FIRST community, outline an initial action plan and schedule webinars for sharing knowledge, experiences and relevant information.
The main goals and deliverables for the first year are:
- Inform the members of FIRST about the SIG, communicate the focus and objectives of the group;
- Provide a forum for gathering and exchanging experiences, ideas and knowledge – organize face-to-face meetings and webinars on a regular basis;
- Identify and address common challenges;
- Create an extensive list of regional groups for collaboration, create a list of points of contact;
- Create a prioritized SIG work plan and resource commitment if needed (leads identified).
Chairs
- Liliana Solha (CAIS/RNP)
- Roderick Mooi (SA NREN CSIRT)