One of the U.S. government's front-line defenses against cyber-sabotage will begin selling its early warnings about the latest Internet threats, something it used to share only with federal agencies. THE SHIFT COMES as the taxpayer-funded CERT Coordination Center, formerly known as . . .
One of the U.S. government's front-line defenses against cyber-sabotage will begin selling its early warnings about the latest Internet threats, something it used to share only with federal agencies. THE SHIFT COMES as the taxpayer-funded CERT Coordination Center, formerly known as the Computer Emergency Response Team, joins a prominent electronics trade association to form a new "Internet Security Alliance."

The effort, to be announced here Thursday, would distribute up-to-the-minute warnings to international corporations about cyber-threats, offer security advice and ultimately establish a seal program to certify the security of companies' computer networks. Companies would pay $2,500 to $70,000 annually, depending on their revenue, and in exchange would receive warnings about new Internet threats generally 45 days before anyone else.