What are a company's obligations to report a cyber incident to CERT-In?

Question

My company suffered a data breach and I want to know the legal timeline and obligations for reporting it to CERT-In. I would rather settle this without going to court if the law allows it, but I need to know my rights before I sign anything. Please tell me what to do first and what document to keep.

MyVakeel Legal Desk · Accepted Answer

Under Indian law, Information Technology Act 2000, Section 70B is the starting point for this cyber law question. What follows is the position in substance, together with the steps that usually make the difference in practice.

Section 70B of the Information Technology Act 2000 empowers CERT-In to collect and analyse information on cyber incidents and issue directions for prompt reporting.

Direction 2 of the CERT-In Directions 2022 lists twenty categories of incidents, including data breaches, ransomware attacks, and unauthorised access, that are mandatorily reportable.

Direction 3 requires such incidents to be reported to CERT-In within six hours of noticing them, a significantly shorter window than most global standards.

Direction 4 requires service providers, intermediaries, and data centres to maintain accurate logs of their ICT systems for one hundred and eighty days within India and provide them to CERT-In when sought.

Failure to comply with these directions can attract penal consequences under Section 70B(7) of the Information Technology Act 2000, including imprisonment up to one year or a fine up to one lakh rupees.

What to do next: 1) Identify whether the incident falls within the twenty categories requiring mandatory reporting; 2) Report to CERT-In within six hours using the prescribed format on cert-in.org.in; 3) Preserve system logs for one hundred and eighty days as required; 4) Notify affected individuals and regulators separately if personal data was compromised.

If you are unsure whether your facts fall inside Information Technology Act 2000, Section 70B, that is worth checking with an advocate before you commit to a route, because switching later costs time. You can post the details on the MyVakeel forum for a practising advocate to review, or book a paid consultation with a Bar Council verified lawyer in cyber law.