Security database updated

I recently finished teaching the two-day INFOSEC Year in Review (IYIR) Workshop in Rome, N.Y., under the aegis of Syracuse University. The course was great fun, as I have always found it to be, with a lot of discussion of the cases, ideas and trends extracted from the IYIR database.

As I promised workshop participants, the updated IYIR database and reports are now available on my Web site. The database and reports are useful for anyone needing quick access to examples of particular security issues; applications can include preparation of theses, articles, lectures, or student homework assignments. They may also simply be interesting in themselves.

You will find links on the page referenced above for:

* A set of PDF files (all less than 3 MB each) that contain yearly reports for 1995 through 2005 (these include pre-database reports).

* The aggregate PDF report (1,952 pages long) for all the abstracts in the database from 1997 through 2005 (this is useful for people who don’t use Microsoft Access).

* The entire Access 2002 database (.MDB) as a 12 MB file (also available compressed into a 4 MB WinZIP file).

* A stripped-down Access 2002 database containing only the 2005 abstracts (3 MB or ZIPped into 1 MB).

The .MDB file includes the following information:

* Date of entry

* Keywords

* Classification code (see below)

* Source & URL(s)

* Abstract

The classification codes are a convenience for finding examples of particular aspects of information assurance; I make no claim that the structure is in any sense definitive – it’s just a heuristic (method for making the information more useful). My research assistants and I pay special attention to adding keywords that will help searchers locate abstracts that might bear on many issues.

At this point, I want to thank the research assistants who have contributed so much to the project since I began involving students; key contributors include Chris Aldrich, Joshua Durdin, Krenar Komoni, Michael Martell, and in particular, Norwich University senior Karthik Raman, who has become the coordinator of the assistants. Since Karthik became involved in the project, the number of abstracts processed per year has grown significantly: 722 new abstracts for 2002; 967 for 2003; 1,242 for 2004 and 1,401 for 2005.

I hope readers will enjoy the fruits of our labor!