Reading the following article my paranoid mind wondered about a
connection with this opening up of millions of computers by Symantec
and the data mining efforts of the government. The silence in the
media about this scandal is unreal. Doesn't anyone care? An
oversight by the experts? WEIRD!


Update: Symantec to provide US DOD with threat info
Paul Roberts, IDG News Service\Boston Bureau
May 27, 2003, 11:10


Adding a twist to the notion of "public private partnerships," a deal
between Symantec Corp. and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) will
provide the U.S. government with intelligence gathered from the
Cupertino, California, company's DeepSight threat and vulnerability
alert services.

The three-year deal will provide "actionable intelligence" from
Symantec about computer vulnerabilities and developing computer attack
activity to the DOD's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT).

That information will then be used to create security recommendations
for protecting IT assets within the DOD, Symantec said.

The CERT is run by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), a
combat support agency within the DOD.

DISA was not immediately available for comment and Symantec declined
to say how much the DOD contract is worth.

The DOD is subscribing to both the DeepSight Threat Management and
Alert Services, according to Symantec. DeepSight Threat Management
uses a network of more than 19,000 sensors such as firewalls and
intrusion detection sensors (IDS) worldwide to track evolving computer
attacks.

DeepSight Alert Services track software vulnerabilities in 3,200
commonly used software products, sending vulnerability alerts to
subscribers using a variety of electronic means such as e-mail, fax,
and short message service (SMS).

Despite the sensitive nature of its work, the DOD will receive the
same information as Symantec's other DeepSight subscribers, according
to Tom Resau, a spokesman for Symantec.

While it might seem strange for a leading defense agency to contract
with a private company to provide intelligence information, Resau said
that DISA will not rely solely on DeepSight for cyber protection.

Instead, the DeepSight information will complement other, proprietary
and off-the-shelf security systems that are already in place at the
agency, Resau said.

"(The DOD) has a huge base of assets to preserve and protect. They're
looking at every new technology that comes down the pipeline," he
said.

The DeepSight services will give the DOD more timely information on
emerging viruses and enable the agency to confirm whether attacks
they're seeing are also affecting organizations in the private sector
according to Brian Finan, director of strategic programs and homeland
security at Symantec.

"DISA will receive information from DeepSight alert and notify
(military departments) what they need to be aware of," Finan said.

In cases where vulnerabilities are actively being exploited, the
DeepSight service will give the DOD a head start on protecting or
patching vulnerable systems, Finan said.

The DOD was already a Symantec customer, tapping the company for
antivirus technology and information from the Bugtraq software
vulnerability discussion list, which Symantec acquired with its
purchase of SecurityFocus Inc. in July, Finan said.

The new arrangement will tie those services together more closely
while adding a managed security services component from Symantec's
acquisition of Riptech Inc., also in July, Finan said.

Symantec worked through defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. to
get the DOD contract. Symantec relied on that company's status as a
DOD information assurance contract holder and extensive relationship
with the agency to get Symantec's DeepSight technology evaluated for
the program.

Despite the fact that DeepSight is not a "military grade" intelligence
service, Symantec is hoping that its relationship with the DOD will
open the door to similar contracts with other federal, state and local
agencies that are looking for better vulnerability and attack alert
information, Resau said.

After the DOD, the new Department of Homeland Security is a likely
candidate for Symantec's DeepSight services, Finan said.

Like the DOD, some of the agencies that now make up the DHS are
already Symantec customers for services such as antivirus protection
or managed security services, Finan said.

"What we think we're going to see happen is the Department of Homeland
Security taking look at how DOD does information security and looking
at this (deal) to see if it has benefits," he said.