Computer Emergency Response Team
CERT or Computer Emergency Response Team is a term given to a special group of people who handle computer security. It is also known as CSIRT which means Computer Security Incident Response Team.[1] Teams are organized by many countries and organizations and are helpful in recovering from cyber attacks that can expose confidential information.[2] CERT members are bound to be reach the point of emergency whenever there is one. The team is comprised of network experts, system administrators, and information security personnel. The team works together to handle hardware availability, network re-routing and study the causes and after effects of the cyber attack.[3]
The term CERT was first used by Carnegie Mellon University in the USA and was later picked by other institutions around the globe. CERT/CC at Carnegie Mellon University came into being when the first ever virus hit the Internet on November 3, 1988.
FIRST
FIRST is the forum for every kind of CERT present around the world. These CERTs are from different organizations or countries. It was established in 1990 to provide a common platform for CERTs.[4]
CERTs around the World
Today CERTs exist in most of the countries around the world. Two major CERTs are CERT/CC by Carnegie Mellon University and CERT by ENISA based in Europe. Besides this, the complete list of CERTs present all over the world can be seen here.