Members of the "Fingerprint Sharing Alliance" include corporate giants MCI, BT, Asia Netcom and EarthLink.
Using a system developed by security firm Arbor Networks, the Alliance represents the first automated mechanism for sharing and receiving threat and attack information, and is a response to an increase in the number of denial of service attacks, computer viruses and worms.
The technology, called Peakflow, is used to monitor networks and identify any abnormal patterns in the data flow. This pattern is then "fingerprinted", and the profile sent to other members of the Alliance.
"When an attack hits, time is of the essence. By sharing the attack details providers are better able to protect their customers as the attack is mitigated closer to the point of origin, thus preventing collateral damage," said Tom Schuster, president of Arbor Networks.
Until now, says Arbor, the industry has had to rely on a system of e-mails and telephone calls in responding to internet threats.
"We're seeing more technology-savvy criminals trying to make money through denial of service extortion schemes," said Senior Yankee Group Analyst Jim Slaby. "Service providers that are cooperating by sharing attack fingerprints are helping mitigate these threats more quickly and closer to the source, thus making the internet a more secure place."