Logicon to the Defense

Company wins contract to develop a prototype Network Early Warning System (NEWS) to forecast Internet-based attacks against Department of Defense computers.

by Roy Mark of www.internetnews.com [August 14, 2001]

Logicon Inc., a Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) company, has been chosen to develop a Network Early Warning System (NEWS) prototype capable of providing advance warning of impending Internet-based coordinated attacks on Department of Defense computer networks. NEWS is a two-year contract valued at $1.2 million, if all options are exercised.

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) of Rome, N.Y., selected Logicon to help protect military computers from organized information warfare assaults designed to disrupt their usage. Work on the NEWS program will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and Bethpage, N.Y.

"As reports of computer intrusions fill the news, the case for this work is compelling," said Paul Zavidniak, program manager for the Herndon, Va.-based Logicon's information warfare, intrusion detection and forecasting research and development activities. "This program represents the means to advance the current protect-detect-respond network defense strategy to a survivable strategy facilitated by anticipating adversary attacks, assessing intrusions and adapting defenses to counter the attack."

NEWS employs artificial intelligence to automate the indications and warning discipline, an area which has been manpower-intensive and rules-based to date. NEWS replaces the current process of manually reviewing intrusion detections reports and event logs with a real-time or near real-time process.

"Through NEWS, the AFRL's IF Branch advances technology beyond intrusion detection to embrace intrusion forecasting," said Zavidniak. "Attack forecasting represents the key element in ensuring the survivability of network communications networks as it provides the early warning necessary to cue adaptive response mechanisms."

The NEWS program develops capabilities successfully demonstrated in an earlier program at the U.S. Air Force Information Warfare Battlelab into a prototype system.

"We feel this effort will enhance the advantage of the proactive versus reactive approach to network monitoring," said Peter Radesi, program manager, AFRL Defensive Information Warfare Branch (IFGB). "The inherent advantages of NEWS are that it increases situational awareness and is extensible across mission areas."

AFRL/IFGB provides research and development in the areas of computer and network risk assessment and management, security services for assurance, vulnerability analysis, detection of intrusions and misuse, and assessment of information damage; and recovery of data and systems to operational levels.

NEWS will integrate the latest intrusion detection tools with selected, robust 'soft computing' technologies such as neural networks and fuzzy logic.

With the growing volume of network intrusions, IT staffs are often too overloaded with incidents to keep prepared. Soft computing technologies allow NEWS to automatically reduce analysts' workload and warn them about upcoming threats.

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