IEEE-SA Launches ICSG to Pool Expertise in Enhancing Computer Security

Inaugural IEEE-SA Industry Connections Program Draws AVG Technologies, McAfee
Inc., Microsoft Corp., Sophos, Symantec Corp. and Trend Micro
PISCATAWAY, N.J.--(Business Wire)--
The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) announced the Industry Connections
Security Group (ICSG), a global effort to pool experience and resources in
combating the systematic and rapid rise in computer security threats. AVG
Technologies, McAfee Inc., Microsoft Corp., Sophos, Symantec Corp. and Trend
Micro are initial members of ICSG.

ICSG is the first activity within the IEEE-SA Industry Connections program,
announced in a separate press release today.

"We`ve seen a whole ecosystem develop around threats to computer security.
Trends such as open-source development, collaboration and software-as-a-service
are firmly established in the malware community, with a lot of money changing
hands to fuel more coordinated and automated attacks," said Jeff Green, ICSG
chair and senior vice president of McAfee Avert Labs. "The industry has
fragmented itself among various siloed efforts designed to solve very specific
problems, such as phishing and spyware. ICSG offers us a unique opportunity to
work collectively in a safe-harbor environment to advance innovation, more
comprehensively address the security problem and deliver systematic
improvements."

ICSG is engaging a wide variety of entities-security vendors, industry content
contributors (such as banks and Internet service providers), educational
institutions and government agencies, among them-in a collaborative forum for
advancing the technologies, methodologies and best practices for sharing
computer security information. The group will develop, document and promote
proposals for enhancing security, toward the goal of producing consensus
approaches and perhaps fueling new IEEE standards.

ICSG`s first working group is focused on malware (malicious software such as
viruses, worms and spyware). Threats have increased dramatically-from 125,000
unique pieces of malware in 2006 to 1.5 million in 2008 and 1.2 million in the
first half of 2009 alone, according to McAfee. ICSG is working to establish more
intelligent ways of sharing malware samples and the information associated with
them in a way that makes the security industry more effective.

"In the past few years, attackers have shifted away from the mass distribution
of a small number of threats to micro distribution of millions of distinct
threats," said Vincent Weafer, vice president, Symantec Security Response. "This
new data sharing standard initiative, established under the umbrella of the IEEE
Industry Connections Security Group, provides a framework for the development of
new industry standards that enable the pooling of industry experience and
resources, and will have visibility and review by the wider academic and
industry groups."

Added McAfee`s Green: "No one organization is capable of addressing the
magnitude and sophistication of today`s threat. The problem demands a more
cohesive response. We are at a point in computer security that is analogous to
when the FBI was formed to augment the work of police forces in individual
states and address interstate crime. The eagerness of our initial members to
participate shows that the time has arrived for ICSG to assume that overarching,
flexible role."

For more information on Industry Connections or the ICSG activity, please visit
http://standards.ieee.org/prod-serv/indconn/index.html.

About IEEE-SA

The IEEE-SA (http://standards.ieee.org/) is a leading developer of international
standards that support many of today's products and services, particularly in
telecommunications, information technology and power generation. With an active
portfolio of nearly 1,300 standards and projects under development, we are
increasingly the central source for standardization in a broad range of emerging
technologies, welcoming individual engineers and corporations to participate.

About the IEEE

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.), the world's
largest technical professional society, is commemorating its 125th anniversary
in 2009 by "Celebrating 125 Years of Engineering the Future" around the globe.
Through its more than 375,000 members in 160 countries, IEEE is a leading
authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers
and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer
electronics. Dedicated to the advancement of technology, IEEE publishes 30
percent of the world's literature in the electrical and electronics engineering
and computer science fields, and has developed over 900 active industry
standards. The organization annually sponsors more than 850 conferences
worldwide. Additional information about IEEE can be found at
http://www.ieee.org.

The IEEE Standards Association
Karen McCabe, 732-562-3824
k.mccabe@ieee.org

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