Afilias, CERT-In sign MoU

* Cooperation and knowledge sharing will help emergency response to cyber-security threats

NEW DELHI - 12 February 2008: Afilias, a global provider of registry services, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) to share critical information and resources to enhance cyber-security in India and world-wide, increase awareness of important security issues and to cooperate in emergency response to critical threats.

"The Internet is a global network; security threats are best addressed through cooperation between organizations and across borders. Afilias' global expertise will help us improve our ability to report on and respond to threats that affect India, and the sharing of data will help in protecting core Internet infrastructure and the domains that Afilias supports in India," said Dr. Gulshan Rai, Director of CERT-In.

Afilias has already been an industry leader in advancing anti-phishing and anti-spam initiatives for Internet domains through its work with the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) and various ICANN working groups. As part of the agreement between Cert-In and Afilias, the two organizations will form a joint committee and agree to share best practices related to security threats to improve security of the infrastructure of the Internet. In addition, both organizations have agreed to collaborate on emergency response initiatives to tackle emerging cyber-security problems, to take proactive measures that can help protect consumers, and to participate in joint education and outreach initiatives on key security issues.

"Our partnership will enhance the security of the Internet domains that Afilias powers, including .IN, India's sovereign space on the Internet, as well as some of the world's largest domains like .INFO and .ORG," said Afilias' Chief Technology Officer Ram Mohan. "Afilias is also committed to improving the security of the Internet for all users and looks forward to collaborating with CERT-In to enhance the protection provided for Indian consumers in particular," he added.

About Afilias

Afilias provides global registry services that leverage proven technology to deliver fast, reliable and secure service. Afilias' technology supports a wide range of applications, including Internet domain registries such as .INFO, .ORG, .MOBI, .ASIA, .AERO, and many country code domains. Afilias also provides services in the RFID market with its Afilias Discovery Service, which enables real-time lookup of event histories across RFID networks. Afilias maintains international headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, sales offices in London, England, sales and operational facilities in Toronto, administrative offices in the U.S. near Philadelphia, PA, and operational offices in New Delhi, India. For more information please visit www.afilias.info.

About CERT-In

CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) is the National Incident Response Centre for major computer security incidents in its constituency i.e. the Indian cyber community. CERT-In's primary role is to raise security awareness in Indian cyber community and to provide technical assistance and advice them to help them recover from computer security incidents. CERT-In also provides technical advice to system administrators and users to respond to computer security incidents. It also identifies trends in intruder activity, works with other similar institutions and organizations to resolve major security issues, and disseminates information to the Indian cyber community. CERT-In also enlightens its constituents about security awareness and best practices for various systems and networks by publishing advisories, guidelines and other technical documents. Learn more: http://www.cert-in.org.in