Information sharing companies join forces to fight cybercrime

Two nonprofit cyber security information sharing services revealed they had formed a strategic alliance May 11, 2015. The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and the Retail Cyber Information Sharing Center (R-CISC) will continue to provide threat information sharing and cyber security intelligence to their respective communities.

The partnering organizations anticipate their collaborative efforts will result in a 360 degree view of the emerging threat landscape from financial institution and merchant perspectives. Combined technological and analytic capabilities are expected to enable the partners to leverage core competencies and enhance existing advisory services to help banks, credit unions and merchants react quickly to the evolving threat environment.

Brian Engle, Executive Director at the R-CISC, has overseen significant growth of the organization leading up to its one-year anniversary on May 14. He sees potential benefits in the cross-functional partnership with the FS-ISAC. "Partnering with FS-ISAC is a surefire way to help accelerate new tools and offerings to retailers," he said, noting that the expanded capabilities of the two organizations will enable R-CISC to enhance its guidance and best practices.

Two organizations, one goal

The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, established in 1999, is a privately held and member-owned non-profit and private financial sector initiative focused on disseminating timely, relevant and actionable cyber security information to financial services stakeholders. This information includes comprehensive reporting and recommendations from security analysts.

The financial services industry created the FS-ISAC in response to Presidential Directive 63 issued in 1998, which mandated information sharing between the public and private sectors. The directive was later revised to become the 2003 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7, protecting the critical and potentially vulnerable U.S. infrastructure from physical and cyber-security threats.

The FS-ISAC became a global organization in 2013, and continues to work with members and partners in such diverse regions as North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific.

The R-CISC, formed in May 2014, is a nonprofit organization launched by the Retail Industry Leaders Association. It is specifically tailored for the retail industry with the objective of promoting cyber-security and data privacy best practices. Fifty major retail brands, including American Eagle Outfitters, The Gap Inc., J. C. Penney Co. Inc., Lowe's Companies Inc., Nike Inc., Safeway Inc., Target Corp., VF Corp. and The Walgreen Co., provide operational insights and guidance.

The R-CISC employs a three-pronged approach to cyber-security and has three dedicated divisions to address different aspects of threat detection and management. Its Information Sharing and Analysis Center promotes sharing between law enforcement and retail members to help identify and react quickly to attacks on existing information technology infrastructure. An Education and Training division works with retailers to train employees on information security and best practices. A Research and Development arm works closely with security analysts and academia to understand emerging trends in the evolving threat landscape.

Expanded analytical, technological capabilities

The strategic alliance with the FS-ISAC is expected to help the R-CISC focus on its core mission and broaden security operation capabilities in several key areas.The FS-ISAC will:

• Provide strategic guidance and support to help R-CISC broaden its information and analytics services to its membership base.
• Work with portal provider NC4 to establish an exclusive portal for R-CISC members to facilitate sector-to-sector sharing between retailers and financial institutions.
• Assign dedicated security operations staff to monitor aggregated data and disseminate relevant information and analysis to retailers.

• Support the R-CISC's ongoing efforts to create new information sharing and educational product offerings.

• Employ its Soltra Edge, an automated threat detector created in partnership with The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., to automate previously manual monitoring activities. The solution uses open standards protocols to route threat information.

Cindy Donaldson, Vice President of Products and Services at the FS-ISAC, says she expects the partnering organizations to take information sharing to a new level. Referring to the newly created partner portal created for R-CISC members, she said, "With the new portal, security operations capabilities and FS-ISAC support services, R-CISC will greatly enhance its cybersecurity capabilities within the community, while optimizing the use of intelligence from key partners, government agencies and law enforcement worldwide."

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