Modelled after the well-known Centre for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, US, the Global Response Centre (GRC) is designed to be the foremost cyber threats resource centre in the world. Working with leading partners from academia, governments and industry (current partners include Symantec Corporation, Kaspersky Lab, F-Secure, Trend Micro, Microsoft, the SANS Institute and many other stakeholders), the GRC provides the global community with a real-time aggregated early warning system. GRC’s ‘Network Early Warning System’ (NEWS) will help partner countries identify cyber threats early on and provide critical guidance on what measures to take.

The GRC will provide ITU Member States with access to specialised tools and systems, including the recently-developed ‘Electronically Secure Collaborative Application Platform for Experts’ (ESCAPE). ESCAPE is a unique electronic tool that enables authorized cyber-experts across different countries to pool resources and collaborate with each other remotely, yet within a secure and trusted environment. By pooling resources and expertise from many different countries at short notice, ESCAPE will enable individual nations and the global community to respond immediately to cyber threats, especially during crisis situations. This system features a comprehensive and growing database of key resources around the world (including IT experts, ‘empowered persons’ such as government regulatory officials and other trusted parties, e.g. CERTs); who can be called on to assist during times of crisis. The system acts as a virtual platform for this community of IT and security experts. ESCAPE will enable the GRC to act as a ‘one-stop’ coordination and response centre for countries during emergencies, enabling swift identification and the sharing of available resources across borders. ITU will provide crucial expertise, both in its research on cybersecurity as well as its experience with developing online collaborative platforms.

The centre-piece of IMPACT’s newly-constructed Global HQ, the GRC is equipped with a crisis room, state-of-the-art IT and communications equipment, a
fully-functional always-on (24x7x365) Security Operations Centre, fully-redundant secure data centre, facilities for shift workers, on-site broadcasting centre, VIP viewing gallery etc. The GRC will play a pivotal role in realizing ITU GCA’s objective of putting technical measures in place to combat new and evolving cyber threats.

The massive seven acre-site provides IMPACT and ITU (and its Members) with considerable flexibility and opportunity for future expansion; for instance, by adding highly-secured disaster recovery facilities.

Key Features of GRC :