Critical Information Infrastructure

Why in news?

• The Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has declared the IT resources of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and UPI managing entity NPCI as ‘Critical Information Infrastructure’.

About Critical Information Infrastructure:

• The Information Technology Act of 2000 defines “Critical Information Infrastructure” as a computer resource, the incapacitation or destruction of which shall have a debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health or safety.
• Under the Act, the government has the power to declare any data, database, IT network or communications infrastructure as CII to protect that digital asset.
• Any person who secures access or attempts to secure access to a protected system in violation of the law can be punished with a jail term of up to 10 years.

National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC):

• National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) was created in 2014.
• It is the nodal agency for taking all measures to protect the nation’s Critical Information Infrastructure (CII).
• Functions of NCIIPC:
  • To guard CIIs from unauthorized access, modification, use, disclosure, disruption, incapacitation or distraction
  • To monitor and forecast national-level threats to CII for policy guidance, expertise sharing and situational awareness for early warning or alerts.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements:

1. The Information Technology Act of 2000 defines ‘Critical Information Infrastructure’

2. Under the Act, the government has the power to declare a communications infrastructure of private entity as ‘Critical Information Infrastructure’

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

                    C

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