Why in the News?

Among 1.39 million cyber security cases last year, vulnerable services made up 875,892 of the total incidents tackled by Cert-In

What is CERT-In?

• CERT-In stands for the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team.
• It is a government agency that functions under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• It was established in January 2004 with the objective of securing Indian cyberspace.
• It is the national nodal agency for dealing with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing.
• It strengthens the security-related defence of the Indian Internet domain.
• The Information Technology Act of 2000 designated CERT-In to serve as the national agency to perform the following functions in the area of cyber security:
• Prevention of cyber attacks: CERT-In works to prevent cyber attacks by issuing advisories and guidelines to organizations and users.
• It also conducts vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify and remediate security weaknesses.
• Incident response: It provides technical assistance to organizations that have been affected by cyber-attacks.
• It helps them to contain and recover from the incident, and to minimize the damage.
• Cyber security awareness: It raises cyber security awareness among the Indian public through various initiatives, such as workshops, seminars, and online resources.
• Coordination with other agencies: CERT-In coordinates with other cyber security agencies in India and around the world to share information and best practices.
• The constituency of CERT-In is the Indian cyber community and Indian cyberspace.
• CERT-In provides services to organisations in the Government, Public, and Private sectors.
• In addition, CERT-In provides services to individuals and home users as well.
• Disclosure of information will be followed in accordance with Indian Constitutional laws.