Operational Security Capabilities for IP Network Infrastructure (opsec)

Charter for Working Group

Goals:

The OPSEC WG will document best current practices with regard to network
security. In particular an effort will be made to clarify the rationale
supporting current operational practice, address gaps in currently
understood best practices for forwarding, control plane, and management
plane security and make clear the liabilities inherent in security
practices where they exist.

Scope:

The scope of the OPSEC WG is intended to include the protection and
secure operation of the forwarding, control and management planes.

Documentation of best common practices, revision of existing operational
security practices documents and proposals for new approaches to
operational challenges are in scope.

Method:

It is expected that the work product of the working group will fall into
the category of best current practices documents. Taxonomy or problem
statement documents may provide a basis for best current practices
documents.

Best Current Practices Document

For each topic addressed, a document will be produced that attempts to
capture current practices related to secure operation. This will be
primarily based on operational experience. Each entry will list:

* threats addressed,
* current practices for addressing the threat,
* protocols, tools and technologies extant at the time of writing that
are used to address the threat,
* the possibility that a solution does not exist within existing tools
or technologies.

Taxonomy and Problem Statement Documents

A document which attempts to describe the scope of particular
operational security challenge or problem space without necessarily
coming to a conclusion or proposing a solution. Such a document might be
a precursor to a best common practices document.

While the principal input of the Working Group are operational
experience and needs, the output should be directed both to provide
guidance to the operators community as well as to Working Groups that
develop protocols or the community of protocol developers at large, as
well as to the implementers of these protocols.

Non-Goals:

The Operations security working group is not the place to do new
protocols.

New protocol work should be addressed in a working group chartered in
the appropriate area or as individual submissions. The OPSEC WG may take
on documents related to the practices of using such work.

Milestones