IU teaming with feds to 'know' hacker 'enemies'

Security monitors developed by IU Pervasive Technology Labs are currently being used by the Federal Department of Defense as a tool to beat terrorist hackers.\nThe mantra, "Know Your Enemy," is the drive behind the development of these security monitors by the international HoneyNet Project, a non-profit organization committed to maintaining and developing internet security and giving free access to the public.\nStarting in 1999 as a loose band of security researchers, the HoneyNet Project has now spread to a global effort for understanding and stopping potential attempts to influx computer networks funded in part by the National Intelligence Council. The IU Pervasive Labs are entering their fourth year as members of the HoneyNet team, designing key components to some of the Project's biggest developments -- many of which are being used by the federal government. \n"It is my understanding that (the government) is doing pilot studies now on some of HoneyNet's projects," said Researcher for the Advanced Network Management Lab Ed Balas. "Some of the other components have been used by the FBI in different investigations." \nAccording to project.honeynet.org, HoneyNet's primary purpose is to capture extensive information about cyber threats through a highly controlled network -- one that can control and monitor all activity that happens within it. \nA need for this information came after hackers and other network intruders started to impose threats on a personal and national level.\n"We started seeing a good number of worms and we just started to look strongly into security," Balas said. "We needed to know what should be done to keep networks running efficiently." \nOne of the components born in the IU labs is Sebek. Designed by Balas, Sebek is an operating system enhancement developed to watch intruders once they break into a system. Information such as this could allow the government to track an intruder and mislead them with false information.\nKnowledge, stresses Balas, is the biggest defense against cyber-invaders.\n"What we are doing won't stop anything from happening," Balas said. "What it does is help us understand the risks. There is a lot of doubt in the security world, but what you want to know is how to apply the knowledge that you find"