(Original article is found here.)
Hi Bob,
No need to Don the Flameproof Apparel. ;~)
First, your prime premise is effectively correct: there is a proliferation of information sharing entities of all types and stripes. Your closing thought is also supportable, in that asset owners need to make some choices about sources of information, and those choices are best where they are as informed as possible.
We are in an interesting transition in knowledge sharing. In the recent past it has been generally assumed that A Source will emerge, and that as long as we all face in that direction and listen carefully Everything will be All Right. What you note above is summary evidence that the actual future is likely to be more analogous with the Internet than to this broadcast television model, with many information sources and entities each providing and processing in different ways.
The inevitable solution is for individual persons and organizations to make appropriate choices among these sources. To select one - or, more often - a small number of sources that together provide the speeds and feeds that fit their needs. This may be, where they do not have the resources or inclination to maintain full awareness of where the most applicable information is to be found today, a single integrator who handles these decisions for them in a trusted fashion. It may be, as you note, where a well-resourced facility creates the internal processes to make and maintain such decisions independently.
As to the nature of the ISAC structure as it exists today there are several which like the ICS ISAC do not intrinsically target industry verticals: the Multi State ISAC, Supply Chain ISAC and by nature the IT ISAC being some examples. The ICS ISAC was conceived to serve a variety of purposes related to the commonalities of ‘cyber physical systems’ across sectors and the organizations associated with these commonalities, and based on response from membership and associated organizations has found a niche in the knowledge sharing ecosystem worth filling. Among the notable environmental factors leading to this niching is the fact that most ISACs and other sharing systems have singular focuses on asset owners and explicitly or implicitly exclude vendors, integrators and other subject matter experts who have interests in and capabilities to offer to the shared communities of interest.
Among the looming tasks facing all entities interested in knowledge sharing is - as your article illustrates - the integration of sharing between knowledge centers themselves. This includes sharing among ISACs and other dedicated public, private and public/private knowledge centers as well as with for-profit analytic and intelligence creation centers, researchers, vendors and other sources of expertise. While we continue to live in a world where any single entity can be in possession of The Answer to imminent threats without having the logistic, legal and economic ability to share that Answer with all concerned parties we will continue to be under evolutionary pressure to develop more effective means of sharing.
The future of information sharing is less likely to reflect the star-topology networks of the mainframe era than the mesh networks of modern information systems. As individual centers of expertise and knowledge begin to raise their sights from servicing only the asset owners directly in front of them and perceive the interdependent single global infrastructure these facilities are embedded in, progress in this area will continue to accelerate.
Keep up the good work, best to you and your team.
Chris Blask
Chair
ICS ISAC
