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IEEE KICKS OFF ENCRYPTED SHARED MEDIA STANDARD FOR STORAGE

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (IEEE-SA) has begun to develop a new standard, IEEE P1619, "Standard Architecture for Encrypted Shared Media," to help protect information in comprehensive storage environments.

The IEEE Security in Storage Working Group (SISWG), which is developing IEEE P1619, will meet in Toronto on Oct. 10, and in Greenbelt, Md. on Dec. 10. Those with expertise relevant to this standard are invited to attend to help develop it.

A one-day workshop, the "First IEEE International Security in Storage Workshop" will be held on Dec. 11, also in Greenbelt. The workshop, which is cosponsored by the IEEE Task Force on Information Assurance and the IEEE Mass Storage Systems Technical Committee, will be an open forum for the latest research on storage security threats, technologies, methodologies and deployment.

IEEE P1619 will standardize secure cryptographic algorithms and methods, especially those that resolve problems with existing data storage encryption techniques. It will address issues such as fostering interoperability among different storage infrastructures, reducing the need for bonded data centers and freeing users from dependence on any one storage vendor. The group expects to circulate a draft standard for comment by spring 2003.

"Centralized data storage may make economic sense, but sensitive health, financial, legal and other records can be compromised if they are not well protected," says Jim Hughes, IEEE P1619 Working Group Chair and a Fellow at StorageTek (Storage Technology Corp). "Storage consolidation will succeed only through a comprehensive systems approach to security.

"It's clear that data at rest needs as much protection as it does when it is moving. We know a lot about key management and encryption in networks, but much less about them in storage," said Hughes. "The new standard will be a major step toward correcting this situation and should help those who operate central data storage facilities to create secure, shared-storage systems that greatly reduce the potential for the misuse of data."

The IEEE P1619 standard is sponsored by the IEEE Storage Systems Standards Committee within the IEEE Computer Society.

The International Security in Storage Workshop

This one-day workshop will bring together researchers and practitioners from government, industry and academia to learn about research on designing, building and managing secure storage systems. Topics that may be discussed include:

• Cryptographic algorithms for storage
• Cryptanalysis of existing and proposed systems and protocols
• Key management for storage
• Attacks on storage area networks and storage systems and countermeasures
• Standardization approaches
• Deployment of secure storage mechanisms
• Defining and defending trust boundaries in storage
• Relating storage security to system and network security.

For more information on this workshop, visit: ieee-tfia.org/sisw2002.

Call for Volunteers

Those with expertise in storage systems, networking and encryption, and other areas relevant to the IEEE P1619 standard are invited to attend the Working Group's meetings in Toronto and Greenbelt to help develop the standard. For information on the IEEE SISWG and its activities, visit: siswg.org.

IEEE-SA working groups typically contain volunteers from industry, government, academia, and trade, scientific and IEEE organizations. The consensus standards they create follow well-defined paths from concept to completion guided by five basic principles -- due process, openness, consensus, balance and right of appeal.

The IEEE-SA Information Assurance Initiative

The P1618 standards effort is part of an initiative at the IEEE-SA to respond to threats to critical infrastructure by focusing on standards projects that enhance. A relatively new "holistic" approach to securing entire systems, information assurance is gaining ground among IT professionals in the private and public sectors. Successfully completed projects, such as the cryptography standard, IEEE 1363, are now being supplemented by the ongoing projects for electronic affidavits, IEEE P1602 and encrypted shared media for storage systems (IEEE P1619). Future projects in the information technology and power areas are planned.

About the IEEE Standards Association

The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body, develops consensus standards through an open process that brings diverse parts of an industry together. These standards set specifications and procedures to ensure that products and services are fit for their purpose and perform as intended. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of more than 870 completed standards and more than 400 standards in development. Over 15,000 IEEE members worldwide belong to IEEE-SA and voluntarily participate in standards activities. For further information on IEEE-SA see: www.standards.ieee.org/.

About the IEEE

The IEEE has more than 375,000 members in approximately 150 countries. Through its members, the organization is a leading authority on areas ranging from aerospace, computers and telecommunications to biomedicine, electric power and consumer electronics. The IEEE produces nearly 30 percent of the world's literature in the electrical and electronics engineering, computing and control technology fields. This nonprofit organization also sponsors or cosponsors more than 300 technical conferences each year. Additional information about the IEEE can be found at www.ieee.org.

Contact: Jim Hughes, IEEE P1619 Working Group Chair, 763-424-1676, jim@network.com.