Ride the Lightning

Law Firm Threat Info-Sharing Group Goes Live

August 24, 2015

Dark Reading reported last week that The Legal Services Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (LS-ISAO) Services had been launched with the help of the financial services industry whose 15-year-old Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) is considered one of the most mature ISAC/ISAO groups today.

It has taken some time, but applications to become members of the group have been sent to about 200 law firms (mostly large firms) – membership is $8000 per year.

"We're providing [to the legal ISAO] the infrastructure to disseminate and receive cybersecurity threat and vulnerability information," says Cindy Donaldson, vice president of products and services with FS-ISAC.

ISACs and ISAOs provide an official mechanism for sharing information about the latest cyberattacks and threats spotted targeting specific industries, for instance, and include databases of the threats and vulnerabilities for their members, as well as provide conferences and other ways for members to interact and share their experiences to better collaborate in fighting cybercrime and cyber espionage actors. Among the industries with ISACs and ISAOs are the aviation, the defense industrial base, emergency services, IT, maritime, nuclear energy, real estate, public transportation, retail, and water utilities. The automotive industry announced last month that it was setting up its own ISAC.

Initially, the LS-ISAO will offer members access to intel-sharing list servers with threat information and advisories from vendors and government agencies as well as member-to-member threat sharing and other resources. Ultimately, it will evolve to offer portal services for members to securely and anonymously share threat intelligence, as well as the Holy Grail of intel-sharing – automating the use of the information into the member's internal security tools and networks.

While I'm happy to see the beginning of a legal ISAC, I hope it will travel down from the major leagues to the minor leagues, where it is also sorely needed.

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