Lack of awareness leads to more Net attacks

By Erwin Lemuel Oliva, INQ7.net

LACK of awareness on Internet security and not lack of investments in the right technology often leads to Internet security problems, the Philippine Honeynet Project founders told INQ7.net this week.

Referring to themselves as "Internet security researchers," Mark Ryan Talabis, 29, and Carlo Monteverde, 26, established the Philippine Honeynet Project (http://www.philippinehoneynet.org) partly to increase local awareness in Internet security in the Philippines.

"There has been no single body or group dedicated to collecting first-hand Internet security information about attacks on Philippine-based sites and networks. So we decided to set up one in September 2005," Talabis said.

The Philippine Honeynet Project has established a network of "sensors" on the Internet that capture patterns, trends, and types of attacks on Philippine-based websites and networks. Last December, the tandem was first to alert security experts of a disturbing and suspicious activity that turned out to be a new virus roaming the Internet.

Funded primarily by Talabis and Monteverde, both also consultants of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippine Honeynet Project is a now a "probationary" member of the Honeynet Reseach Alliance (http://www.honeynet.org).

Both are now spending their spare time working on the Philippine Honeynet Project.

Talabis said that he is doing this out of his passion for Internet security. "This is our passion. But as they say, what is passion if you don't have money," he quipped.

It’s thanks to the Ateneo University Information Technology Institute that they've managed to continue work on the Philippine Honeynet Project, Talabis said. However, sustaining this project will soon require additional funding and support from a third-party willing to work for a non-profit organization. The project is also looking for willing students to help analyze data they gather from their Honeynet network.

"Our plan this year is to really focus on building more awareness about Internet security because lack of awareness remains the biggest problem in the country," he added.

Talabis is currently finishing his masters at Ateneo University; Monteverde is a computer science graduate of the Centro Escolar University.