# CERT-In issues AI security audit guidelines with four risk tiers and agentic AI checks

URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-06/cert-in-ai-audit-guidelines-tiers/
Date: 6 November 2026 (2026-11-06)
Source: The Hindu, Page 16
UPSC papers: GS3
Publisher: upsc.help (Pratidin), free and open-source UPSC Civil Services current affairs. Not affiliated with UPSC. Every fact was checked against the source reports by a separate review before publishing.

**In one line:** CERT-In has issued a detailed framework for auditing AI systems, grading them by risk and adding special tests for AI agents that act on their own.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the national agency for responding to cyber incidents, has issued the 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) Security Auditing Guidelines: Framework for Secure, Ethical and Auditable Artificial Intelligence Systems'. Version 1.0 is dated 4 November 2026 and was prepared by a working group under CERT-In's effort on Indian standards for cybersecurity auditing. It applies to AI systems developed or operated in India, and to systems that process Indian data or serve Indian users. Its aim is a consistent, risk-based way to audit AI for security, governance, privacy, fairness, transparency, resilience and auditability across the system's life cycle. The Hindu reported it on 6 November with a focus on its rules for agentic AI, which are systems that plan and carry out tasks, use tools and delegate work on their own.

The guidelines sort systems into four tiers: Low, Moderate, High and Critical. Eight inherent risk factors, including impact severity, autonomy, data sensitivity, reversibility and adversarial exposure, are each scored 1 to 4, giving a composite of 8 to 32. Auditors must validate the tier, and if they disagree with the organisation the higher tier applies. Tier 1 needs an annual self-assessment; Tier 2 an internal audit and an independent audit by a CERT-In empanelled auditor at least annually; Tier 3 independent audits, every six months where warranted; and Tier 4, for AI in critical infrastructure, national security or safety-critical settings, an empanelled audit with continuous monitoring. An AI Impact Assessment is mandatory for Tiers 3 and 4, and sole-auditor engagements are not allowed for them.

For agentic AI, the guidelines cover excessive agency, unsafe tool use, persistent memory and communication between agents. Audits are to test whether an agent can exceed its authorised permissions or misuse credentials, whether task delegation is safe and whether emergency-stop mechanisms work. Autonomous execution of code, transactions or external messages is an escalation trigger that can push a system into a higher tier. The framework requires risk-based human oversight, approval gates for consequential actions and manual override. AI-related security incidents must be reported to CERT-In within six hours, with logs kept for 180 days. The guidelines draw on ISO/IEC 42001, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, MITRE ATLAS, OWASP guidance and MeitY's India AI Governance Guidelines. The document itself does not state how it will be enforced or what its legal status is.

## Prelims facts

- CERT-In's AI Security Auditing Guidelines, version 1.0, are dated 4 November 2026.
- AI systems are placed in four risk tiers (Low, Moderate, High, Critical) using eight risk factors scored 1 to 4.
- Critical-tier systems need an audit by a CERT-In empanelled auditor plus continuous monitoring, and an AI Impact Assessment is mandatory for Tiers 3 and 4.
- Audits of agentic AI must test permissions, credential misuse, safe delegation and emergency-stop mechanisms.
- AI-related security incidents must be reported to CERT-In within six hours, with logs kept for 180 days.

## Quick recall

- **What are CERT-In's new AI guidelines called?** AI Security Auditing Guidelines: Framework for Secure, Ethical and Auditable Artificial Intelligence Systems.
- **Date of version 1.0?** 4 November 2026.
- **How many risk tiers are there?** Four: Low, Moderate, High and Critical.
- **How many inherent risk factors are scored?** Eight, each scored 1 to 4.
- **Which tiers require a mandatory AI Impact Assessment?** Tier 3 (High) and Tier 4 (Critical).
- **Deadline for reporting AI-related security incidents to CERT-In?** Six hours.
- **For how long must relevant logs be kept?** 180 days.
- **Under which Ministry does CERT-In function?** The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

## Prelims practice question

With reference to CERT-In's AI Security Auditing Guidelines issued in November 2026, consider the following statements:
1. They classify AI systems into four risk tiers.
2. If an auditor and the organisation disagree on the tier, the lower tier applies.
3. They apply only to AI systems developed by government departments.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 only. Statement 1 is correct: the tiers are Low, Moderate, High and Critical. Statement 2 is wrong: the higher tier applies when they disagree. Statement 3 is wrong: the guidelines cover AI systems developed or operated in India, or processing Indian data or serving Indian users, not only government systems.

## UPSC previous-year questions this connects to

- UPSC Mains 2022, GS3: What are the different elements of cyber security? Keeping in view the challenges in cyber security, examine the extent to which India has successfully developed a comprehensive National Cyber Security Strategy. (https://upsc.help/pyq/q343-different-elements-cyber-security-keeping-view-challenges/)
  How to use this story in the answer: Use the guidelines as a 2026 example of India filling gaps in its cyber strategy by extending audits and incident reporting to AI systems.
- UPSC Mains 2023, GS3: Introduce the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI). How does AI help clinical diagnosis? Do you perceive any threat to privacy of the individual in the use of AI in the healthcare? (https://upsc.help/pyq/q217-introduce-concept-artificial-intelligence-ai-does-ai/)
  How to use this story in the answer: Use the CERT-In framework to suggest how privacy risks of AI in healthcare can be managed through risk-tiered audits and human oversight.
- UPSC Mains 2018, GS3: Data security has assumed significant importance in the digitized world due to rising cyber-crimes. The Justice B. N. Srikrishna Committee Report addresses issues related to data security. What, in your view, are the strengths and weaknesses of the Report relating to protection of personal data in cyber space? (https://upsc.help/pyq/q215-data-security-has-assumed-significant-importance-digitized/)

## Mains practice question

Agentic AI systems that act autonomously raise new security risks. Discuss these risks and evaluate the approach of CERT-In's AI Security Auditing Guidelines, 2026 in addressing them. (250 words)

### Model answer

Agentic AI systems plan and execute a sequence of actions, invoke tools and delegate tasks with little human input. CERT-In's AI Security Auditing Guidelines (version 1.0, 4 November 2026) set a risk-based audit framework for such systems.

## Risks of agentic AI
- **Excessive agency:** an agent may exceed authorised permissions or misuse credentials.
- **Unsafe tool use:** autonomous code execution, transactions or external messages can cause real harm.
- **Persistent memory:** retained data can leak or be poisoned.
- **Inter-agent communication:** one compromised agent can mislead others.
- **Prompt injection:** hidden instructions can hijack behaviour.

## CERT-In's approach
- **Four tiers** (Low to Critical) using eight risk factors scored 1 to 4; the higher tier applies if auditor and organisation disagree.
- **Escalation triggers:** autonomous execution of code or transactions can raise the tier.
- **Graded audits:** CERT-In empanelled audits for Moderate and Critical systems; continuous monitoring for Critical.
- **Agent tests:** permissions, credential misuse, safe delegation and emergency stops.
- **Human oversight:** approval gates and manual override.
- **Incidents:** reporting within six hours; 180-day log retention.

## Gaps
- Legal status and enforcement are not spelt out.
- Capacity: Tier 3 and 4 audit teams must include at least one member with AI/ML competence.

## Way forward
- Link the framework to sector regulators and the DPDP Act, 2023.
- Build auditor capacity and publish sector-specific checklists.

The guidelines move India from broad AI principles to testable controls, but their impact depends on enforcement and capacity.

## The basics

## Why this matters
AI tools have moved from answering questions to taking actions: running code, sending emails, moving money and calling other software. When a system can act, a security failure is no longer a wrong answer but a wrong deed. CERT-In's guidelines are a detailed checklist for auditing such systems, and they matter for any firm that builds or uses AI in India.

## Agentic AI from zero
A chatbot replies. An agent pursues a goal: it breaks the goal into steps, chooses tools, acts, checks results and tries again. CERT-In defines agentic AI as systems 'capable of independently planning and executing a sequence of actions, invoking tools or services'. That power creates new failure modes, explained in Agentic AI: an agent may exceed its permissions, misuse stored credentials, remember sensitive data, or be steered by a hidden instruction, a trick called prompt injection.

## A risk-based audit
The framework does not treat every AI system alike. A recommendation engine for a small shop is not an AI that controls a power grid. Each system gets a tier from eight inherent risk factors, and audit intensity rises with the tier. This is the logic of Risk-based AI regulation. The most serious tiers need independent auditors empanelled by CERT-In and an AI Impact Assessment.

## Humans in charge
The guidelines insist on Human oversight of AI: clear ownership, approval gates before consequential actions, the ability to override and stop the system, and logs of decisions. An emergency stop that does not work is treated as a serious audit finding. The open question is enforcement: the document is written in 'shall' language but does not say what happens to a firm that ignores it.

## Sources

- https://www.cert-in.org.in/PDF/AI_Security_Auditing_Guidelines.pdf
- https://www.medianama.com/2026/11/223-lowdown-cert-in-ai-security-auditing-guidelines/
- https://superkalam.com/current-affairs/06-11-2026/cert-in-lays-out-security-norms-for-agentic-ai-systems-pg16-5204e363-6704-447e-aa0e-b30fb0630dd5
- https://x.com/IndianCERT/status/2117935628524589532