What is a WARP - for schools?

The first task is to understand the WARP concept and the advantages it can bring to school IT. It is possible to run a successful WARP simply because it sounds like a good idea. However, if you first fully understand the WARP concept, and then apply that concept to your own environment, you will get even more out of the project.

The official definition is that it is a Warning, Advice, and Reporting Point. Its purpose is to foster information- (and solution-) sharing between colleagues, and thereby to develop a more secure, responsive and robust cyberworld. If the component parts of the internet are more secure, then the whole nation will be more secure.

First we should differentiate between members of the WARP and beneficiaries of the WARP. In a schools environment, the members are likely to be the IT staff of the different schools within a particular geographic region. The beneficiaries are all those who use the computer systems within the area: pupils, other staff, and perhaps parents and internet visitors. The members use the WARP to help provide a secure computing environment for the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries have no direct contact and are not involved with the WARP itself (although they are encouraged to report security incidents to the WARP Members - see 'Reporting Point' below).

There are three constituent parts to a WARP: warnings, advice brokering, and a reporting point.

• Warnings. A WARP delivers filtered warnings to its Members so that they may maintain their system security. The warnings are filtered so that members will only receive warnings relevant to their own systems: a Linux-only user will not receive warnings about Microsoft vulnerabilities. The purpose is to ensure that members receive pertinent information in a timely and relevant manner without needing to go looking for the information, nor being inundated with irrelevant information.

• Advice. The advice brokering element of a WARP is a mechanism by which members may seek and/or give advice to their colleagues. It is, in effect, a closed, secure and anonymous meeting place; a forum where Members can discuss problems, and the Operator, knowing his Members' needs and knowledge/skills, can provide an information brokering service.

• Reporting Point. A WARP should deliver a mechanism for (anonymously) reporting security incidents. Members should be encouraged to report security incidents, but so too should the WARP beneficiaries. Pooling and sharing this information with other Members of the WARP, and possibly other WARPs as well, will lead to more robust and secure systems.

Now that you understand what a WARP is, the next stage is to understand WARPs in the schools context which is explained in getting started.

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