A problem shared is a problem halved: A survey on the dimensions of collective cyber defense through security information sharing

Abstract

The Internet threat landscape is fundamentally changing. A major shift away from hobby hacking toward well-organized cyber crime can be observed. These attacks are typically carried out for commercial reasons in a sophisticated and targeted manner, and specifically in a way to circumvent common security measures. Additionally, networks have grown to a scale and complexity, and have reached a degree of interconnectedness, that their protection can often only be guaranteed and financed as shared efforts. Consequently, new paradigms are required for detecting contemporary attacks and mitigating their effects. Today, many attack detection tasks are performed within individual organizations, and there is little cross-organizational information sharing. However, information sharing is a crucial step to acquiring a thorough understanding of large-scale cyber-attack situations, and is therefore seen as one of the key concepts to protect future networks. Discovering covert cyber attacks and new malware, issuing early warnings, advice about how to secure networks, and selectively distribute threat intelligence data are just some of the many use cases. In this survey article we provide a structured overview about the dimensions of cyber security information sharing. First, we motivate the need in more detail and work out the requirements for an information sharing system. Second, we highlight legal aspects and efforts from standardization bodies such as ISO and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Third, we survey implementations in terms of both organizational and technological matters. In this regard, we study the structures of Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs), and evaluate what we could learn from them in terms of applied processes, available protocols and implemented tools. We conclude with a critical review of the state of the art and highlight important considerations when building effective security information sharing platforms for the future.