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.