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ATIS' Standards Committee T1 Publishes Security Standard to Protect Next Generation Telecommunications Network Infrastructure

Standard to be included in NSTAC Report to President

July 31, 2003, Washington, D.C. – ATIS’ Standards Committee T1 Technical Subcommittee T1M1 has published a new management plane network security standard designed to allow service providers, vendors, government departments and agencies to implement a secure telecommunications network management infrastructure. Implementing the security standard raises the baseline requirements for meeting current security risks while allowing service providers to procure and build a secure infrastructure comprised of multiple vendor platforms.

According to T1M1 Chair Mike Fargano of Qwest, “In an age when the communications industry is transitioning to next generation networks with the backdrop of terrorist threats to America’s critical infrastructure, it was essential to develop a standard to drive the implementation of a common baseline for management plane security to secure the management of the public telecommunications network.”

T1M1 developed the standard in collaboration with the Security Requirements Working Group (SRWG) – composed of experts from the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) Network Security Information Exchange (NSIE) and the Government NSIE.

The American National Standard, “Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning Security Requirements for the Public Telecommunications Network: A Baseline of Security Requirements for the Management Plane (T1.276-2003),” will be highlighted in a report by the NSTAC to President Bush, targeted for the end of August. The standard is available via the ATIS Document Center at www.atis.org.

ATIS’ Technical Subcommittee T1M1 develops internetwork operations, administration, maintenance and provisioning standards, and technical reports related to interfaces for U.S. telecommunications networks.

About ATIS

ATIS is a technical planning and standards development organization that is committed to rapidly developing and promoting technical and operations standards for the communications and related information technologies industry worldwide using a pragmatic, flexible and open approach. Over 1,400 participants from more than 400 communications companies are active in ATIS’ 16 industry committees, and its Incubator Solutions Program. www.atis.org

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