Airtel gets CERT-IN thumbs up for govt cyber security services

NEW DELHI:  Telecom major Bharti Airtel has received a green light of sorts from India’s cyber 
security arm that will enable it to offer cyber security services to government agencies and organisations. According to a stock exchange filing made by Airtel on Wednesday, it has been empanelled by the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN). 

The company went on to observe that with this empanelment, it will be able to offer its cyber security solutions to not just corporate customers, but also the Union and state governments as well as public sector entities. Airtel currently provides end-to-end managed security services to enterprise customers under the Airtel Secure brand.

As part of Airtel Secure, Airtel has also set up a Security Intelligence Centre with access to advanced technology and AI/ML tools to track and mitigate potential online threats, the statement said. “Airtel is trusted by over one million enterprises of all sizes. The CERT empanelment is a major milestone in our journey to becoming the preferred partner for enterprises when it comes to security, which is a top priority in a digitally connected world,” said Ajay Chitkara, Director and CEO of Airtel Business.

Airtel’s push to expand its cyber security services comes at a time when cyber attacks have become a serious threat to most organisations, both private and public, and especially those that handle valuable customer data. According to a recent report by Tech  Research Asia, cyber security attacks impacted 52 per cent of organisations in India during the course of the pandemic over the last 12 months. 

Of the companies that admitted to such breaches, 71 per cent said that “it was a serious or very serious attack” and 65 per cent said it took more than a week to fix.