Grid computing has often been heralded as the next logical step after the worldwide web. Users of grids can access dynamic resources such as computer storage and use the computing resources of computers under the umbrella of a virtual organisation. Although grid computing is often compared to the worldwide web, it is vastly more complex both in organisational and technical areas. This also extends into the area of security and incident response, where established academic computer security incident response teams (CSIRTs) face new challenges arising from the use of grids. This paper aims to outline some of the organisational and technical challenges encountered by the German academic CSIRT, DFN‐CERT while extending and adapting their services to grid environments during the D‐Grid project.
Most national research and education networks (NRENs) already have computer security incident response teams to respond to security incidents involving computers connected to the networks. This paper considers how one established NREN CSIRT is dealing with the new challenges arising from grid computing.
The paper finds that D‐Grid Initiative is an ongoing project and the establishment of CSIRT services for grids is still at an early stage. The establishment of communication channels to the various grid communities as well as gaining of knowledge about grid software has required DFN‐CERT to make changes even though the basic principles of CSIRT operation remain the same.
The D‐Grid project aims to establish a common grid infrastructure that can be used by other scientific domains. The project consists of six community projects and one integration project (DGI – D‐Grid Integration). The DGI project will develop the basic infrastructure, while the community projects will build on this infrastructure and enhance it for the specific needs of their research areas. At the initial stage of the DGI project, the idea of a central CSIRT for all grids in Germany was seen as an advantage over having a CSIRT for each grid project, which would have replicated efforts and thus wasted resources. This paper gives an overview about the organisational and technical challenges and experiences DFN‐CERT has encountered while setting up a CSIRT for the D‐Grid communities.
