Indian Computer Emergency Response Team

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, CERT-In, is India’s national agency for responding to cyber security incidents. Its statutory authority comes from Section 70B of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which assigns it preventive, coordinative and response functions in cyber security.

Statutory basis

Section 70B, inserted by the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, empowers the Central Government to appoint CERT-In through notification in the Official Gazette. Its functioning is further governed by the CERT-In Rules, 2013.

Core functions

CERT-In’s mandate covers the full cycle of technical cyber incident management.

• It collects, analyses and disseminates information on cyber incidents.
• It provides forecasts and alerts concerning cyber security incidents.
• It undertakes emergency measures for handling cyber security incidents and coordinates incident-response activities.
• It issues guidelines, advisories, vulnerability notes and white papers relating to information security practices and cyber incident prevention, response and reporting.
• It performs other prescribed cyber security functions.

Statutory powers

To perform these functions, CERT-In may call for information and issue directions to service providers, intermediaries, data centres, bodies corporate and other persons. Such directions may concern information security practices and the prevention, response and reporting of cyber incidents; non-compliance attracts consequences under the Act.