India – ITU Joint Cyber Drill
- Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have commenced India-ITU Joint Cyberdrill 2021.
- This Cyberdrill is intended for Indian entities especially Critical Network Infrastructure operators.
- It is a four days virtual event starting from 30 November to 3 December 2021.
About India – ITU Joint Cyber Drill:
- The cyber drill was conducted for the Critical Network Infrastructure operators of India that include the systems, assets and networks essential to ensure the security of a country.
- It also aims to improve the cyber security readiness of India & protection and incident response capability of the country.
- It was the first edition of the drill.
- The cyber attacks and information security incidents were simulated during the drill.
- More than 400 participants from critical sectors, namely, power, insurance, finance, CERT-In and CSIRT, industry, academia, telecom service providers and field units of DoT took part in the drill.
- They were trained to defend and respond against such incidents that helped to test the cyber capabilities of an organisation.
Significance:
- The drill emphasized the role of Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) and Computer Incident and Response Team (CIRT) responsible for handling security breaches
- It also strengthened India’s capability in protecting critical information infrastructure and building cyber resilience.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- It is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs).
- It is responsible for allocating global radio spectrum and satellite orbits.
- It also develops the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies to seamlessly interconnect.
- It also strives to improve access to ICTs among the underserved communities worldwide.
- Members: 193 countries
- HQ: Geneva, Switzerland.
- India was elected as a member for another 4-year term from 2019 to 2022.
CERT-In:
- It is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents as and when they occur.
- It was established in 2004 under IT (Amendment) Act, 2008 as a functional organization of the MEITy.
- Functions:
- Collection, analysis and dissemination of information on cyber incidents.
- Forecast and alerts of cyber security incidents
- Emergency measures for handling cyber security incidents
- Coordination of cyber incident response activities.
- Issue guidelines, advisories, vulnerability notes and whitepapers relating to information security practices, procedures, prevention, response and reporting of cyber incidents.
- Such other functions relating to cyber security as may be prescribed.
Computer Security Incident Response Team
- It is a group of IT professionals that provides an organization with services and support surrounding the assessment, management and prevention of cybersecurity-related emergencies, as well as coordination of incident response efforts.
Computer Incident and Response Team
- It is responsible for responding to security breaches, viruses and other potentially catastrophic incidents in enterprises that face significant security risks.
- It also includes experts who can guide enterprise executives on appropriate communication in the wake of such incidents.
- The CIRT normally operates in conjunction with other enterprise groups, such as site security, public-relations and disaster recovery teams.