The Central government has added the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) among a list of organisations that are exempted from the ambit of the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005.
The CERT-In is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents as and when they occur. One of its primary objectives is enhancing “security awareness among common citizens”. It functions under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
There are 26 other intelligence and security organisations established by the Central government such as the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, Directorate of Enforcement, National Technical Research Organisation that are exempt under RTI.
The RTI Act enacted in 2005 said the Act shall not apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, “provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded.”
On Friday, the Department of Personnel and Training issued a notification stating that “in exercise of the powers conferred by section 24 (2) of the RTI Act, 2005 (22 of 2005), the Central government hereby makes the following further amendment in the Second Schedule to the said Act, namely, “In the Second Schedule to the RTI Act, 2005, after serial number 26 and the entry relating there to, the following serial number and entry shall be inserted, namely: -27. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team.”
The last time an amendment was made to the second schedule of RTI was in 2016 when Strategic Forces Command was added to the list of exempted organisations. Two other organisations of the Ministry of Defence – the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Border Roads Development Board are also placed in the second schedule of the Act.
The CERT-In has been probing major cyber attacks in the recent past; it was the first responder to the ransomware attack on November 23, 2022 at All India Institute of Medical Sciences which had crippled the “Hospital Information System (HIS) and e-Hospital” system for several days.
