VIJAYAWADA: After facing a series of data breaches earlier this year, the Information Technology (IT) Department has finally launched the Andhra Pradesh Cybersecurity Response Team (APCRT), a web portal to provide security from cyber threats.
The APCRT, which works on the lines of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (ICERT), will extend cybersecurity cover to all the government departments and State-owned entities. The people can also report such incidents on which the team will act swiftly.
With this, AP becomes one of the States in the country to have an exclusive web portal for reporting cybersecurity-related incidents. It maybe noted that the cybersecurity experts have been stressing the need for a platform to report cyber-related incidents for a long time. “The APCRT is up and running now. The web portal will enable reporting of cybersecurity-related incidents to which a rapid response based on expert analysis will be provided,” Principal Secretary (IT) K Vijayanand told TNIE.
Officials from the Andhra Pradesh Technology Services (APTS), the nodal agency to implement the Cybersecurity Policy of the State, said the APCRT functions round-the-clock and incidents can be reported to https://apcrt.ap.gov.in anytime.
“The objective is to reduce the time required to mitigate the threat identified from the time it is first reported.
The response team works by consolidating the functions of incident monitoring, detection, response, coordination and computer network defence. It also generates cyber threat intelligence and provides cyber threat reporting and advisories for the citizens,” a senior official from APTS said.
The APCRT operates from the AP Cyber Security Operations Centre (APCSOC) inaugurated in Vijayawada earlier this year.