Argonne development.

U.S. Department of Energy laboratories fight off millions of cyber attacks every year, but a near real-time dialog between these labs about this hostile activity has never existed--until now.

Scientists at DOE's Argonne National Laboratory have devised a program that allows for Cyber Security defense systems to communicate when attacked and transmit that information to cyber systems at other institutions in the hopes of strengthening the overall cyber security posture of the complex.

"The Federated Model for Cyber Security acts as a virtual neighborhood watch program. If one institution is attacked; secure and timely communication to others in the Federation will aide in protecting them from that same attack through active response," cyber security officer Michael Skwarek said.

Prior to the development of the Federated Model for Cyber Security, the exchange of hostile activity was solely on the shoulders of the haman element. In cyber attacks, every second counts and the quicker that such information Can be securely shared, will assist in strengthening others against similar attacks. With millions of cyber security probes a day, the human element will not be successful alone.

The Federated Model for Cyber Security has proved to be an important cyber security and communication tool. Use in the private sector, as well as in institutions with heavy collaborative efforts can realize an operational gain by leveraging the power of sharing and learning from others on what they see and defend against on a daily basis. www.argonne.com