The following is a short history of Study Group 17 and the related X-series and Z-series of Recommendations.
As many people know, SG 17 was formed by the merger of ITU-T Study Groups 7 and 10 in 2001.
Study Group 7 had its roots back to the Joint Working Party on New Data Networks, which was created by the IVth Plenary Assembly of the CCITT (Consultative Committee for International Telephony and Telegraphy) in 1968. Table 1 below shows the evolution over the various study periods and the study group leadership until the merger with SG 10 in 2001. Its work program evolved significantly over this time. In the late 60s and early 70s, its work focused on digital leased lines and digital circuit switched data networks with the first
X-series Recommendations approved at the December 1972 Vth CCITT Plenary Assembly. Packet switched networks was the hot topic of the 70s and 80s with the first edition of the famous X.25 Recommendation approved in 1976. An ever increasing number of packet data network Recommendations were developed and approved in 1980, 1984 and 1988. Work on Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) in conjunction with ISO and IEC began in the early 80s and was very intense through the 80s and 90s. By 2000, this work had reached maturity and SG 7 began to build its efforts on security.
Study Group 10 had its roots as part of the work of CCITT Study Group XI with three Questions (out of eleven Questions) on languages for stored program control telephone exchanges adopted by the Vth CCITT Plenary Assembly in 1972. Table 2 below shows the evolution over the various study periods and the study group leadership until the merger with SG 7 in 2001. In 1976, skeleton Recommendations on Specification and Description Language (SDL) and Man-Machine Language (MML) were adopted as the first
Z-series Recommendations. These were further developed in the next 8 years along with CHILL with approvals in 1980 and 1984. The VIIIth CCITT Plenary Assembly in October 1984 established Study Group 10. By 2000, a suite of Z-series Recommendations was in place with MSC (Message Sequence Chart) as the major addition in the 1990s. Focus in the later years moved to aligning ITU-T languages, such as SDL and MSC, to OMG’s UML (Unified Modeling Language).
In 2001, TSAG agreed to merge Study Groups 7 and 10 to form Study Group 17 (7 + 10 = 17). The chairman of the two study groups became co-chairmen of the new Study Group 17 and all the vice chairmen of the two study groups became vice chairman of the new Study Group 17. Table 3 below shows the evolution of Study Group 17 over five study periods and the study group leadership. A major change was made at WTSA-04 when the remaining work on data network was transferred to Study Group 13 and the major focus of Study Group 17 was shifted to security while also continuing its work on languages. By WTSA-08, a substantial set of security Recommendations had been approved and WTSA-08 changed the title of Study Group 17 to
Security.
The role of Study Group 17 was essentially continued by WTSA-12 and strengthened by WTSA-16.
Study Group 17 has lead study group responsibilities for:
-
Security
-
Identity management (IdM)
- Languages and description techniques
Table 4 shows the history of X and Z series Recommendations approved by the various CCITT Plenary Assemblies. After 1988, Recommendations were developed, approved and published individually, rather than in the sequence of color books published every four years. The X-series expanded in scope over the years from “New data networks” to “Data communication networks” to “Data networks and open system communications” to “Data networks, open system communications and security”. In a similar manner, the Z-series expanded over the years from “Programming languages for SPC exchanges" to "Programming languages”, to “Languages and general software aspects for telecommunication systems”. Tables 5, 6, 7 and 8 show the set of 438 approved Recommendations and 32 approved Supplements under the responsibility of Study Group 17 as of 15 January 2022, among which over 220 standards (ITU-T Recommendations) focus on security.
Table 1 - Leadership of Study Group 7 and predecessors
|
Study Period |
Designation |
Name |
Chairman |
Vice Chairmen |
Number of Questions |
| 1969-1972 | JWP/NRD | New data networks | O. A. OHLMER (Germany) | V. C. MACDONALD (Canada) | 1 |
| 1973-1976 | Study Group VII | New networks for data transmission | V. C. MACDONALD (Canada) | N. R. CRANE (Australia)
H. GABLER (Germany)
A. E. SERRURE (Belgium) | 1 (25 points) |
| 1977-1980 | Study Group VII | New networks for data transmission | V. C. MACDONALD (Canada) | J. CHAPMAN (UK)
N. R. CRANE (Australia)
M. KATO (Japan)
A. TEXIER (France) | 34 |
| 1981-1984 | Study Group VII | Data communication networks | V. C. MACDONALD (Canada) | H. V. BERTINE (USA)
M. KATO (Japan)
L. Lavandera SANCHEZ (Spain)
A. TEXIER (France)
J. O. WEDLAKE (UK) | 41 |
| 1985-1988 | Study Group VII | Data communication networks | J. O. WEDLAKE (UK) | H. V. BERTINE (USA)
P. G. BOWIE (Canada)
P. GUINAUDEAU (France)
L. Lavandera SANCHEZ (Spain)
R. PARODI (Italy)
S. TOMITA (Japan) | 48 |
| 1989-1992 | Study Group VII | Data communications networks | J. O. WEDLAKE (UK) | H. V. BERTINE (USA)
P. G. BOWIE (Canada)
L. Lavandera SANCHEZ (Spain)
J. PARK (Australia)
R. PARODI (Italy)
P. PUGES (France)
S. TOMITA (Japan) | 15 |
| 1993-1996 | Study Group 7 | Data networks and open systems communications | H. V. BERTINE (USA) | V. OSSIPOV (Russia)
S. TOMITA (Japan)
C. H. YIM (Korea) | 25 |
| 1997-2000 | Study Group 7 | Data networks and open system communications | H. V. BERTINE (USA) | Y. H. LEE (Korea)
Y. HIRAMATSU (Japan)
V. OSSIPOV (Russia) | 25 |
| 2001-16/9/01 | Study Group 7 | Data networks and open systems communications | H. V. BERTINE (USA) | B.-M. CHIN (Korea)
V. OSSIPOV (Russia) | 14
|
Table 2 - Leadership of Study Group 10 and predecessors
|
Study Period |
Designation |
Name |
Chairman |
Vice Chairmen |
Number of Questions |
| 1973-1976 | Study Group XI | Telephone switching and signalling | J. S. RYAN (USA) | T. MOUSSA (Cameroon)
P. PLEHIERS (Belgium)
P. STERNDORFF(Denmark) | 3 out of 11 |
| 1977-1980 | Study Group XI | Telephone switching and signalling | J. S. RYAN (USA) | C. A. ADEOYE (Nigeria)
P. PLEHIERS (Belgium)
P. STERNDORFF(Denmark) | 3 out of 13 |
| 1981-1984 | Study Group XI | Telephone switching and signalling | J. S. RYAN (USA) | P. COLLET (France)
S. KANO (Japan)
P. PLEHIERS (Belgium)P. STERNDORFF(Denmark) | 3 out of 19 |
| 1985-1988 | Study Group X | Languages and methods for telecommunications applications | C. CARRELLI (Italy) | K. KATZEFF (Sweden)
N. A. MARTELLOTTO (USA)
K. SCHULZ (Germany) | 9 |
| 1989-1992 | Study Group X | Languages for telecommunication applications | C. CARRELLI (Italy) | O. F. FAERGEMAND (Denmark)
B. LINDBERG (S)
K. SCHULZ (Germany) | 12 |
| 1993-1996 | Study Group 10 | Languages for telecommunication applications | O. F. FAERGEMAND (Denmark) | K. SCHULZ (Germany) | 10 |
| 1997-2000 | Study Group 10 | Languages and general software aspects for telecommunication systems | A. SARMA (Germany) | A. MEISINGSET (Norway) | 13 |
| 2001-16/9/2001 | Study Group 10 | Languages and general software aspects for telecommunication systems | A. SARMA (Germany) | V. EFIMOUCHKINE (Russia)
A. MEISINGSET (Norway)
O. MONKEWICH (Canada) | 13 |
Table 3 - Leadership of Study Group 17
|
Study Period |
Designation |
Name |
Chairman |
Vice Chairmen |
Number of Questions |
| 17/9/2001-2004 | Study Group 17 | Data networks and telecommunication software | Co-chairmen:
Herbert BERTINE (USA)
and
Amardeo SARMA (Germany) | Byoung-Moon CHIN (Korea)
Vladimir EFIMOUCHKINE (Russia)
Arve MEISINGSET (Norway)
Ostap MONKEWICH (Canada)
V. OSSIPOV (Russia) | 27 |
| 2005-2008 | Study Group 17 | Security, languages and telecommunication software | Herbert BERTINE (USA) | Jianyong CHEN (China)
Byoung-Moon CHIN (Korea)
Arkadiy KREMER (Russia)
Arve MEISINGSET (Norway)
Ostap MONKEWICH (Canada)
Yu WATANABE (Japan) | 17 |
| 2009-2012 | Study Group 17 | Security |
Arkadiy KREMER (Russia) | Jianyong CHEN (China)
Mohamed M.K. ELHAJ (Sudan)
Antonio GUIMARAES (Brazil)
Patrick MWESIGWA (Uganda)
Koji NAKAO (Japan)
Heung Youl YOUM (Korea) | 15 |
| 2013-2016 | Study Group 17 | Security |
Arkadiy KREMER (Russia) | Khalid BELHOUL (UAE)
Mohamed M.K. ELHAJ (Sudan)
Mario German Fromow RANGEL (Mexico)
Antonio GUIMARAES (Brazil)
Zhaoji LIN (China)
Patrick MWESIGWA (Uganda)
Koji NAKAO (Japan)
Sacid SARIKAYA (Turkey)
Heung Youl YOUM (Korea) | 12 |
| 2017-2020 | Study Group 17 |
Security | Heung Youl YOUM (Korea) | Vasiliy DOLMATOV (Russia)
Gökhan EVREN (Turkey) Inette FUREY (USA)*
Muataz Elsadig ISHAG (Sudan) Patrick-Kennedy KETTIN ZANGA (Central African Republic)***
Wala LATROUS (Tunisia) Zhaoji LIN (China) Hugo Darío MIGUEL (Argentina)**
Yutaka MIYAKE (Japan) | 12
|
* Replaced by Juan GONZALEZ (USA), March 2018
** Replaced by Lia MOLINARI (Argentina), March 2020
*** Replaced by Eric Anicet MBATHAS (Central African Republic), August 2020
Table 4 - CCITT Plenary Assemblies and Recommendations Approved
|
Study Period |
Book |
Plenary Assembly |
Dates |
X-series Recommendations |
Z-series Recommendations |
| 1969-1972 | Green Book | Vth CCITT Plenary Assembly | 4-15 December 1972 | 11 (Public data networks - X.1, X.2, X.20, X.21, X.30, X.31, X.32, X.33, X.40, X.50, X.70) | |
| 1973-1976 | Orange Book | VIth CCITT Plenary Assembly | 27 September – 8 October 1976 | 24 (Public data networks) | 3 (SDL – Z.100-series)
8 (MML – Z.300-series) |
| 1977-1980 | Yellow Book | VIIth CCITT Plenary Assembly | 10-21 November 1980 | 39 (Public data networks) | 4 (SDL – Z.100-series)
1 (CHILL – Z.200)
9 (MML – Z.300-series) |
| 1981-1984 | Red Book | VIIIth CCITT Plenary Assembly | 8-19 October 1984 | 56 (Public data networks)
9 (OSI – X.200-series)
8 (MHS – X.400-series) | 5 (SDL – Z.100-series)
1 (CHILL – Z.200)
15 (MML – Z.300-series) |
| 1985-1988 | Blue Book | IXth CCITT Plenary Assembly | 14-25 November 1988 | 72 (Public data networks)
23 (OSI – X.200-series)
9 (MHS – X.400-series)
8 (Directory – X.500-series) | 1 (SDL – Z.100)
1 (FDTs – Z.110)
1 (CHILL – Z.200)
19 (MML – Z.300-series) |
Table 5 - E-series Recommendations under the responsibility of Study Group 17*OVERALL NETWORK OPERATION, TELEPHONE SERVICE, SERVICE OPERATION AND HUMAN FACTORS
|
Subject |
Recommendation Series |
Number of Texts |
|
International operation |
E.100-E.229 |
2 |
| General provisions concerning Administrations | E.104-E.119 | 2 |
|
Network management |
E.400-E.489 |
1 |
| International network management | E.405-E.419 | 1 |
|
|
Table 6 - F-series Recommendations under the responsibility of Study Group 17NON-TELEPHONE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
|
Subject |
Recommendation Series |
Number of Texts |
|
Telegraph service |
F.1-F.109 |
1 |
|
Message handling services |
F.400-F.499 |
11 |
|
Directory services |
F.500-F.549 |
4 |
Table 7 - X-series Recommendations under the responsibility of Study Group 17DATA NETWORKS, OPEN SYSTEM COMMUNICATIONS AND SECURITY
|
Subject |
Recommendation Series |
Number of Texts |
|
Open Systems Interconnection |
X.200-X.299 |
48 |
| Model and notation | X.200-X.209 | 2 |
| Service definitions | X.210-X.219 | 11 |
| Connection-mode protocol specifications | X.220-X.229 | 10 |
| Connectionless-mode protocol specifications | X.230-X.239 | 6 |
| PICS proformas | X.240-X.259 | 8 |
| Protocol Identification | X.260-X.269 | 3 |
| Security Protocols | X.270-X.279 | 2 |
| Layer Managed Objects | X.280-X.289 | 5 |
| Conformance testing | X.290-X.299 | 1 |
|
Message Handling Systems |
X.400-X.499 |
25 |
|
Directory |
X.500-X.599 |
11 |
|
OSI networking and system aspects |
X.600-X.699 |
42 + 1 Supp. |
| Networking | X.600-X.629 | 7 |
| Efficiency | X.630-X.639 | 6 |
| Quality of service | X.640-X.649 | 2 |
| Naming, Addressing and Registration | X.650-X.679 | 15 + 1 Supp.
|
| Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) | X.680-X.699 | 12
|
|
Security |
X.800-X.849 |
20 + 4 Supp. |
|
OSI applications |
X.850-X.899 |
14 |
| Commitment, Concurrency and Recovery | X.850-X.859 | 3 |
| Transaction processing | X.860-X.879 | 4 |
| Remote operations | X.880-X.889 | 3 |
| Generic applications of ASN.1 | X.890-X.899 | 4
|
|
Open distributed processing |
X.900-X.999 |
13 |
|
Information and network security |
X.1000-X.1099 |
46 + 5 Supp. |
| General security aspects | X.1000-X.1029 | 1
|
| Network security | X.1030-X.1049 | 17 + 1 Supp. |
| Security management | X.1050-X.1069 | 11+ 4 Supp. |
| Telebiometrics | X.1080-X.1099 | 17
|
|
Secure applications and services (1) |
X.1100-X.1199 |
43 + 6 Supp. |
| Multicast security | X.1100-X.1109 | 1 |
Home network security
| X.1110-X.1119 |
4 + 1 Supp. |
| Mobile security | X.1120-X.1139 | 7 + 2 Supp. |
Web security (1)
| X.1140-X.1149 | 9 + 3 Supp. |
Application security (1)
| X.1150-X.1159 | 9 |
| Peer-to-peer security | X.1160-X.1169 | 4 |
| Networked ID security | X.1170-X.1179 | 1 |
| IPTV security | X.1180-X.1199 | 8 |
|
Cyberspace security |
X.1200-X.1299 |
43 + 15 Supp. |
| Cybersecurity | X.1200-X.1229 | 14 + 5 Supp. |
| Countering spam | X.1230-X.1249 | 15 + 8 Supp. |
Identity management
| X.1250-X.1279 | 14 + 2 Supp. |
|
Secure applications and services (2) |
X.1300-X.1499 | 39
|
| Emergency communications | X.1300-X.1309 | 2 |
Ubiquitous sensor network security
| X.1310-X.1319 | 4 |
Smart grid security
| X.1330-X.1339
| 3
|
Certified mail
| X.1340-X.1349
| 1
|
Internet of things (IoT) security
| X.1360-X.1369
| 9
|
Intelligent transportation system (ITS) security
| X.1370-X.1389
| 6 |
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) security
| X.1400-X.1429
| 9
|
Application Security (2)
| X.1450-X.1469
| 4
|
Web security (2)
| X.1470-X.1489
| 1
|
|
Cybersecurity information exchange |
X.1500-X.1599 |
21 |
Overview of cybersecurity
| X.1500-X.1519 | 2 |
Vulnerability/state exchange
| X.1520-X.1539 | 10 |
| Event/incident/heuristics exchange | X.1540-X.1549 | 4 |
| Exchange of policies | X.1550-X.1559 | 1
|
| Heuristics and information request | X.1560-X.1569 | 0 |
| Identification and discovery | X.1570-X.1579 | 1 |
| Assured exchange | X.1580-X.1589 | 3 |
|
Cloud computing security | X.1600-X.1699 |
10 |
Overview of cloud computing security
| X.1600-X.1601
| 1 |
Cloud Computing security design
| X.1602-X.1639
| 6 |
Cloud Computing security best practices and guidelines
| X.1640-X.1659
| 3
|
Quantum communication
| X.1700-X.1729
| 3
|
Quantum random number generator
| X.1702-X.1709
| 1 |
Framework of QKDN security
| X.1710-X.1711
| 1
|
Security design for QKDN
| X.1712-X.1719
| 1
|
Data security
| X.1750-X.1799
| 4 |
Big Data Security
| X.1750-X.1759
| 3
|
Data protection
| X.1779-X.1789
| 1 |
IMT-2020 security
| X.1800-X.1819
| 1 |
Table 8 - Z-series Recommendations under the responsibility of Study Group 17LANGUAGES AND GENERAL SOFTWARE ASPECTS FOR TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
|
Subject |
Recommendation Series |
Number of Texts |
|
Formal description techniques (FDT) |
Z.100-Z.199 |
35 + 1 Supp. |
| Specification and Description Language (SDL) | Z.100-Z.109 | 9 + 1 Supp. |
| Application of formal description techniques | Z.110-Z.119 | 3 |
| Message Sequence Chart (MSC) | Z.120-Z.129 | 2 |
| User Requirements Notation (URN) | Z.150-Z.159 | 2 |
| Testing and Test Control Notation (TTCN) | Z.160-Z.179 | 19
|
|
Programming languages |
Z.200-Z.299 |
1 |
| CHILL: The ITU-T high level language | Z.200-Z.209 | 1 |
|
Quality |
Z.400-Z.499 | 1 |
| Quality of telecommunication software | Z.400-Z.409 | 0 |
| Quality aspects of protocol-related Recommendations | Z.450-Z.459 | 1 |
|
Middleware |
Z.600-Z.699 | 0 |
| Processing environment architectures | Z.600-Z.609 | 0 |
