WARPs explained

A  WARP  provides 3 three core services:

1.     Filtered Warning Service - where members receive only the security information they need, selected via an on-line tick-list;

2.     Advice Brokering Service - where members can learn from other members’ initiatives and experience, possibly through a members’ bulletin board;

3.     Trusted Sharing Service - where reports are anonymised so that members can learn from each other’s attacks & incidents, without fear of embarrassment or recrimination.

1. Filtered Warning Service

The Filtered Warnings Service enables WARP members to receive security related Warnings and Advisories that are filtered, based upon each individual's personal choice. Security information from many information sources (such as UNIRAS), are matched against a composite list of possible information subjects for relevance and urgency and then disseminated by the WARP operator in a timely manner.

The Filtered Warnings Service takes information from many sources. This information is processed by the WARP administrator to add local information and value, and then distributed to only those WARP members that have expressed an interest in data within specific categories.  This service requires a number of capabilities, including:

• building a  record of WARP members’ choices in a profile;
• processing alerts & advisories from various sources;
• generation of warnings and advisories tailored for the WARP community;
• distribution of these warnings and advisories to the correct WARP members.

Whilst these functions could be implemented using standard e-mail and Office tools, clearly this service will be extremely labour intensive without some specialised tools.  Individual WARPs can take it upon themselves to develop their own tools and are encouraged to donate them to the WARP Toolbox if they could benefit others.

A software package has been specially developed to allow WARP members to easily modify and maintain their list of selections, and to help WARP operators to easily categorise and distribute warnings and advisories.  This Filtered Warnings Application (FWA) software is available to WARPs exclusively to deploy if they wish, but is not essential to running a WARP.

This service delivers the 'Warnings' part of the Warning, Advice and Reporting Point.

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2. Advice Brokering Service

The Advice Brokering Service provides the WARP members with the ability to set up a dialogue amongst themselves, in a secure environment. Members are able to ask each other for advice on information security issues or offer good practice guidelines based on their own experiences. One way of facilitating dialogue could be to use an on-line bulletin board. The bulletin board could be monitored by the WARP operator, who could encourage discussions, draw in members with relevant expertise, and summarise any topics of interest. After removing anything sensitive, summaries could then be issued as News items through the Filtered Warnings Service. This can also trigger the WARP operator to identify and research topics of common concern, and locate sources of solutions or organise training sessions.  The Advice Brokering Service allows members to offer their experience or skills to other members, possibly on a barter basis, where one has done work in an area that another is contemplating.

Regular meetings between members can be organised to facilitate Advice Brokering. The WARP operator could facilitate these meetings, involving WARP members perhaps in the chairmanship.

This service delivers the 'Advice' part of the Warning, Advice and Reporting Point.

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3. Trusted Sharing Service

The Trusted Sharing Service creates a trusted environment to encourage the sharing of sensitive information, such as incidents or problems experienced by members. WARP members must have confidence that any information they share will not cause them harm or embarrassment, otherwise they may not be inclined to share information at all. The WARP operator must earn the trust of the members by getting to know them and their interests through the Warnings and Advice Services.  The operator can anonymise any compromising elements of a report before sharing it with the rest of the membership.  Sharing sensitive information can help members to take timely preventative action, benefiting from other members’ experience. Just one timely early warning of a serious incident or threat could more than justify the costs of WARP membership.

This service delivers the 'Reporting' part of the Warning, Advice and Reporting Point.

The WARP benefits page outlines how these services can provide real value for both WARP Providers and WARP Members. Descriptions of these roles can be found in Glossary.

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