The Reserve Bank of India's Working Group on Information Security, Electronic Banking, Technology Risk Management and Cyber Frauds states that "there is a need for a system of information sharing akin to the functions performed by Financial Services Information Sharing Agency (FS-ISAC) in the US" and recommended that IDRBT set up a body like the FS-ISAC that can enable sharing of security events amongst banks.
Simultaneously, the National Security Council Secretariat also wanted such centres to be set up in various critical sectors. As banks were well ahead in implementing information security and IDRBT had already set up a CISO Forum for banks, the task of setting up this body for information sharing was entrusted to IDRBT.
Accordingly, IDRBT has established the Indian Banks – Center for Analysis of Risks and Threats (IB-CART) in March 2014. This is a first for the country and has become a model for other critical sectors. The key objectives of the IB-CART are:
Since its establishment, the IB-CART has played a pivotal role in creating a platform to develop safety nets to contain cyber attacks. It has been constantly engaging with the IT executives of banks to resolve security concerns of the banking sector. The IB-CART team also performs cyber drills regularly to help banks strengthen their incident management process.
The IB-CART now has more than 90 users from over 60 public, private and foreign banks in India The IB-CART advisory council has 9 members with representation from public and private sector banks and CERT-IN.
The IB-CART functions under the aegis of the Institute's Centre for Cyber Security and is coordinated by Dr. B.M. Mehtre and Dr. Rajarshi Pal, Faculty, IDRBT.