Key Features of the Cyber Security Breach Reporting Directions 

Mandatory Reporting

The direction mandates all service providers, government organisations, data centres, intermediaries and body corporates to mandatorily report within 6 hours of noticing or being brought to notice of any cyber incident. Rule 12(1)(a) of the Information Technology (The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team and Manner of Performing Functions and Duties) Rules, 2013 provides for a list of cyber security incidents that needed to be reported mandatorily by these entities mentioned above. The rules had previously listed 10 different types of cyber security incidents which need to be mandatorily reported. Apart from these 10 types, the new direction has also categorised data breaches, data leaks, attacks on IoT, and payment systems, fake mobile apps, unauthorised access to social media accounts and attacks or suspicious activities affecting software/servers/systems/apps relating to big data, blockchain, virtual assets, 3Dand 4D printing, drones as cyber security incidents which should be mandatorily reported. 

Point of Contact

All service providers, intermediaries, data centres, body corporates and Government organisations shall appoint a point of contact within their organisation, who shall ensure effective coordination with the CERT-In. The name and other details of the point of contact shall be sent to CERT-In and the entity should also ensure that it is updated every now and then when there is a change.

Log Retention and Data Localisation Requirement

The direction mandates all entities mentioned in the direction to mandatorily maintain and secure logs of their ICT systems for a period of 180 days. All such logs should be stored within the jurisdiction of the country and the same should be handed over to the CERT-In in the event of a cyber security incident or any order or direction from CERT-In.

Registration of Information

The direction has mandated data centres, Virtual Private Server (VPS) providers, Cloud Service providers and Virtual Private Network Service (VPN Service) providers to register certain information with CERT-In. All these entities are required to maintain such information for a period of 5 years or longer duration as mandated by law, even after the cancellation or expiration of the registration. The following information is required to be registered with CERT-In:

• Validated names of subscribers/customers hiring the services.
• Period of hire, including dates.
• IPs allotted to/being used by the members.
• Email address and IP address and time stamp used at the time of registration/on-boarding.
• The purpose of hiring services.
• Validated address and contact numbers.
• Ownership pattern of the subscribers/customers hiring services.

KYC Requirement

This decade has witnessed the rise of cryptocurrencies across the globe and most countries, including India, still lack a dedicated framework to regulate this space. These new directions from CERT-In intend to regulate and streamline some aspects of this exponentially expanding sector. The directions mandate that virtual asset service providers, virtual asset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers to obtain KYC information from their customers. Further, these entities are also obligated to record all their financial transactions for a period of 5 years. Entities are also directed to maintain information about the IP addresses along with timestamps and time zones, transaction ID, the public keys, addresses or accounts involved, the nature and date of the transaction, and the amount transferred. 

Integration into ICT System

The direction calls on data centres, body corporates and government organisations to connect to the Network Time Protocol (NTP) Server of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) or the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) for synchronisation into the ICT system. Moreover, where ICT infrastructure of the entities are scattered in multiple locations, the entities are free to use accurate and standard time sources other than NPL and NIC.

Non-compliance

In the event that the above-mentioned entities fail to adhere or comply with these directions issued by CERT-In, they shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with a fine which may extend to one lakh rupees or with both under subsection (7) of section 70B of the IT Act, 2000.

Conclusion

These new directions issued by CERT-In have acknowledged the concerns of end-users, who were kept in the dark regarding their data and the process undertaken by a corporate body in the event of a data breach or leak. The directions have also touched upon the latest technological developments like cloud services, virtual assets, and online payments, which are yet to be completely regulated by the government. When compared with the CERT rules 2013, the new directions have an expanded scope and applicability as well as a significantly increased compliance bracket for entities.

The European Union enacted the EU Directive on Security of Networks and Information Systems (called the NIS Directive), which supervises the cyber security of European markets. Unlike the present directive, the scope and applicability of the NIS directive are much larger. Certain critical sectors such as energy, transport, water, health, digital infrastructure, finance, and digital service providers such as online marketplaces, cloud and online search engines are all required to comply with these directives.

CERT-In has provided the entities with a 60-day window to comply with the directions. The increased compliance requirements and the added cost that comes along with such compliance will make smaller entities anxious. Hence, the effectiveness of these directions can only be judged with the passage of time. Significant concern can also be placed on the fact that these new directions will merely add to the compliance burden rather than improve the cyber security environment of the country.