The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)
Context:
CERT-In recently hosted visiting foreign journalists from Europe, America, and Central Asian countries to discuss India's cybersecurity framework and cross-border cooperation in cyber incident resolution
About CERT-In:
CERT-In has been designated to serve as national agency for incident response under Section 70-B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (Amendment 2008).
Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Operating a 24x7 incident response Help Desk, CERT-In ensures timely responses to reported cybersecurity incidents.
Key Functions:
According to the IT Act, 2000, CERT-In is responsible for:
Gathering and analyzing information on cyber incidents.
Issuing forecasts and alerts regarding cyber security incidents.
Taking emergency measures for handling cyber security incidents.
Coordinating cyber incident response activities.
Issuing guidelines, advisories, and vulnerability notes relating to information security practices and procedures.
Statutory Powers: CERT-In is empowered to call for information and issue directions to:
Service providers
Intermediaries
Data Centres
Body corporates etc
Non-compliance attracts penalties under Section 70B(7) of the IT Act
Different Types of Cyber frauds:
Phishing: a common method that cybercriminals use to do the fraudulent activity by creating authentic-looking emails or websites to trick victims into sharing personal information or financial data.
Vishing: Fraudsters contact the victim pretending to be calling from trusted sources like bank/ income tax/ Gas agency etc.
They ask victim's for bank account details & collect financial information about debit/credit cards, expiry date etc.
Malware: Malware is a piece of malicious code inserted in an application, program or system by threat actors. They can infect your systems and perform malicious operations.
Digital Arrest: It refers to a form of cyber fraud or online scam, not a real arrest.