Industry news

Ethical hackers team up

An industry association has been set up to incorporate ethical hackers, it has been reported.

The Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers (Crest) will act to reassure organisations buying IT security systems.

Crest will provide sufficient testing for IT products, reports ZD Net.

It aims to standardise ethical testing and provide professional qualifications for its testers.

The association's advisory panel includes representatives from Aviva, Lloyds TSB and the NHS.

Paul Docherty, Crest's chairman, said that penetration testing is a widely accepted form of information security and is an integral part of many organisations' IT risk management programs.

"Yet despite the widespread use of penetration testing, there has historically been a definite lack of agreed commercial standards and practices," he added.

"We formed Crest with a number of other providers in order to supply a high level of standard to companies who engage with security testers."

The not for profit organisation is governed by a formal Memorandum of Association (MOA) and under this MOA, companies are invited to join as members subject to certain requirements.