A computer emergency response team (CERT) is a group of experts dealing with cybersecurity threats, with approximately 250 teams worldwide. CERTs are often government-funded or operated by private security companies. They anticipate, recognize, and respond to internet security threats for businesses and governments. The first CERT was formed at Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute, which deals with various cybersecurity threats, advises on network security risks, and offers certification for software engineers. The US-CERT is responsible for protecting the nation’s information infrastructure against cyberattacks from hostile nations, hackers, and terrorist groups. These groups are classified as high, mid, or low-level threats.
A computer emergency response team, also known as a CERT, is a group of computer experts who deal with cybersecurity threats. There are approximately 250 CERT groups located around the world. These teams are often government-funded, but some are also operated by private security companies. Different branches of the military have their own CERT teams, and the official US-CERT team is managed through the United States Department of Homeland Security. CERT can also mean Cyber Emergency Preparedness Teams, and some teams have adopted the moniker C-SIRT, which stands for Cyber Security Incident Response Team. A cyber emergency response team is tasked with anticipating, recognizing, and responding to Internet security threats facing private businesses and governments.
The first officially organized computer emergency response team was formed at the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute. This group often deals with a wide variety of different cybersecurity threats. The team can assess internal threats from corporate or government groups or external threats from cyber hackers or hostile nations. In addition, Carnegie Mellon’s CERT team advises on network security risks and ways to anticipate security threats. The team also does computer forensics to analyze machines that have initiated or spread cyber attacks. It also offers certification for software engineers through its Cybersecurity Incident Management program.
The US Government’s Cyber Emergency Response Team is part of the National Cyber Security Division. US-CERT responds against cyberattacks and is responsible for protecting the nation’s information infrastructure. Because cyberattacks are sometimes launched by hostile nations, much of the threat information that US-CERT responds to is classified or unknown. For example, the US government informed the media that it was the victim of a cyber attack by North Korea in 2009. Although the government announced that many computers had been affected by the attack, very little information was made available additional. Similarly, information about CERT teams operated by different military branches is often scarce.
Threats faced by a cyber emergency response team include cyber attacks from hostile nations, cyber hackers, and terrorist groups. Hostile nations are considered the highest level of threat to cyber infrastructure. Criminal organizations sometimes launch profit-driven attacks in an attempt to steal money or identity. Espionage crimes include stealing sensitive information from government computers or networks. CERT teams view these groups as mid-level threats. Terrorist groups and lone hackers are considered low-level threats because they often lack the technological resources to launch widespread attacks. A cyber emergency response team can deal with threats from some or all of these groups.
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