NeuStar, Inc. announced today that it participated in Cyber Storm II, the largest ever multinational online security exercise, which was organized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As a provider of managed DNS and directory services to the global communications and Internet industry, NeuStar was among a select group of companies invited by DHS to help the government plan and conduct Cyber Storm II.

The week-long Cyber Storm II exercise concluded on Friday, March 14, 2008. Participants included representatives from five countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States), several U.S. federal agencies, nine different states (Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, Delaware, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, and Virginia), and over 40 private sector companies.

The goal of the Cyber Storm II exercise was to examine security preparedness and response capabilities across a variety of infrastructure functions including information technology, communications, and transportation systems and assets. Various “cyber-focused” scenarios were posed, all of which escalated to the level of a national incident involving compromised Internet infrastructures and requiring a coordinated government/industry response.

NeuStar’s participation in Cyber Storm II spanned four areas:

• Technical expertise in the stability and security of the global Internet, specifically in the areas of global routing and DNS.
• Design and development of custom scenarios specifically testing participant readiness and expertise in dealing with a large scale “cyber-attack” against both critical infrastructure components and the Internet as a whole.
• Operational expertise during exercise simulations, acting as a third-party vendor and modifying scenarios in real time to provide more realism.
• Post-exercise analysis and recommendations in the coming months to assist all of the participants in improving responses to significant cyber events.

“Cyber Storm II highlights the critical nature of both NeuStar and DNS to the operation and security of the Internet and the global activities it supports,” said Rodney Joffe, senior vice president and senior technologist at NeuStar. “Our participation in Cyber Storm II demonstrated NeuStar’s position as a trusted thought leader with regard to the global DNS infrastructure, and allowed us to showcase our technology and operational expertise. NeuStar is committed to ensuring the ongoing security and stability of the Internet, and we are honored to have participated as a key player in this important exercise.”

Lessons learned from Cyber Storm II will be captured in ongoing evaluation sessions, and will be published in an after-action report to be published later this year by DHS.