Common Criteria Development Board (CCDB) and Global IT Security Certification

Context

Recently, India was selected to chair the Common Criteria Development Board (CCDB) for the period from April 2026 to April 2028, highlighting its growing role in global cyber security and IT security certification frameworks.

About Common Criteria Development Board (CCDB)

1. The Common Criteria Development Board (CCDB) functions as the technical body of the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA).
2. The CCRA is an international framework that enables mutual recognition of IT security certifications among member countries.
3. India joined the CCRA as a Certificate Authorizing Nation on 16^th  September 2013.
4. In India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the STQC Directorate oversee IT security certification processes, while the STQC Directorate serves as the official certification body.
5. The CCRA includes 20 certificate-authorizing nations and 18 certificate-consuming nations.
6. The CCDB develops technical standards and evaluation criteria for secure IT products.
7. It also manages work related to the Common Criteria (CC) and the Common Evaluation Methodology (CEM) for IT security assessment.
8. The board maintains the Common Criteria Portal, which acts as the global repository of certified secure IT products.
9. The organisation supports international frameworks and technical programmes for secure technology certification.