Background Information
WARPs are a part of of the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure's (CPNI) information sharing strategy to help combat the increasing risk of electronic attack on our information systems.
WARPs have been shown to be effective in improving information security by stimulating better communication of alerts and warnings, improving awareness and education, and encouraging incident reporting. Membership of a WARP can also reduce the costs of good security. WARP members agree to work together within the boundaries of a defined community and share information to reduce the risk of their information systems being compromised and therefore reduce the risk to their organisation.
The West Midlands Council WARP focuses on the local authorities based within the West Midlands. As many local government services are now being offered to the community through the Internet via eGovernment strategies, the dependance on ICT is increasing. This method of access for services means that access must be dependable and also secure. Dependaibility and data security are critical issues at both the national and international levels with many governments around the world addressing the problem, particularly the threat of malicious attacks against ICT systems.
The UK Government through CPNI is providing Threat Assessments, as well as Alerts and Warnings relating to ICT vunerabilities and incidents. CPNI have access to a wealth of information that would benefit a much larger community, but does not have a clearly defined route to disseminate this information to trusted parties. CPNI are also aware that to their job effectively, they need access to information on incidents from reputable sources they can trust.
Consequently they have developed the concept of the WARP (Warning, Advice and Reporting Point), where communities of interest agree to work together and share information to reduce the risk of malicious attacks on their ICT systems. The WARP also provides alerts and warnings of potential vunerabilities and threats to the community to assist them in protecting their data and systems
