Computer emergency response team

The name "Computer Emergency Response Team" was first used in 1988 by the CERT Coordination Center (CERT-CC) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

The term CERT is registered as a trade and service mark by CMU in multiple countries worldwide.

The histories of CERT and CSIRT, are linked to the existence of malware, especially computer worms and viruses.

This led to the formation of the first computer emergency response team at Carnegie Mellon University under a U.S. Government contract.

With the massive growth in the use of information and communications technologies over the subsequent years, the generic term 'CSIRT' refers to an essential part of most large organisations' structures.