A group of Asian IT ministers has announced, after a two-day meeting in Singapore, that next year "members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) hope to put in place a cooperation framework for sharing real-time information on computer threats as well as assessments of vulnerabilities. By 2005, all of ASEAN's 10 members are expected to have put in place Computer Emergency Response Teams (Certs) to deal with attacks from hackers or viruses." [AFP quoted in Brunei Online] See also the Joint Media Statement issued by the ministers.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Homeland Security is planning a National Cyber Security Summit in "late fall," according to congressional testimony by Robert Liscouski, assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at DHS. A story in eWeek says that Liscouski "outlined the goals of the summit" in a statement to the House cyber-security subcommittee last Tuesday. "Officials hope to spur a standards-based system for communicating threats nationwide and develop a common threat and vulnerability reporting tool. The summit also aims to develop a 'vulnerability reduction initiative,' based on improved evaluation standards, software measures, patch deployment tools and methods, and best practices. Participants will develop a 'National Cyber Security Road Map,' outlining a timeframe for improving online safety and developing ways to measure the improvement, according to Liscouski's testimony... Liscouski [also] formally announced the appointment of Amit Yoran to head the National Cyber Security Division at DHS..." Click here for an interview with Yoran broadcast last spring on PBS's Frontline program.