New FCC CSRIC Focusing on 911, Emergency Alerts, IoT
The FCC’s newly rechartered Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council, CSRIC VI, met for the first time under Chairman Ajit Pai, who stopped by to open the meeting. CSRIC V wrapped up work in March with little fanfare and no top FCC officials speaking (see 1703150058). Cybersecurity, a key focus under former Chairman Tom Wheeler, was largely off the agenda at Friday's meeting, though one working group focused on “Network Reliability and Security Risk Reduction.” CSRIC VI is more focused on areas from 5G to the emerging IoT.
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“You do have a grand tradition to uphold,” Pai said in brief remarks. “CSRIC stands for world-class expertise on preserving the security of our nation’s communications networks and promoting community preparedness.” Pai stressed that one of the focuses is on the transition from legacy to IP-based next generation networks for 911. It "has particular promise, as I’ve seen for myself, in places like rural Tennessee,” he said.
The panel will also evaluate emergency alerting in light of emerging technologies like the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard and 5G, “which may result in new capabilities,” Pai said. On the network reliability front, Pai called on the body to identity best practices. The group also could focus on other issues during its two-year term, including rural broadband deployment and spectrum allocations, he said.
As part of the transition to an IP world, “we have to make sure that network reliability, security, public safety and emergency communications will remain critical issues,” said CSRIC Chair Brian King, T-Mobile senior vice president-national technology service delivery and operations. “It is essential that we collaborate to find solutions.”
NG-911 is a “meaty” issue for CSRIC to take on. King said. The Transition Path to NG911 Working Group is to write two reports, both due next year, he said. The Comprehensive Re-imagining of Emergency Alerting Working Group is to recommend ways to “streamline, simplify and modernize” existing alerting, with two reports both due in 2018, King said.
The Network Reliability and Security Risk Reduction Working Group is to examine “best practices to mitigate network reliability risks” associated with the diameter protocol for authentication, authorization and accounting for computer networks and the industry standard for connecting and authenticating subscribers to mobile networks, King said. It will examine risks to reliability and security on 5G networks as a result of the “proliferation” of the IoT and increased use of open-source software, he said. The working group will examine best practices and tools to improve the reliability in IP-based network protocols, he said. The three reports from the group are expected next year and in 2019, he said.
Unusual for an FCC advisory committee, the session lasted under 45 minutes. It meets again Sept. 15. Jeffery Goldthorp, the FCC’s designated federal officer, said it was the shortest CSRIC meeting he could remember in the past 15 years.