Report Templates 🇮🇳 Indian Mandate Aligned 7 min read

Enterprise Red Teaming Rules of Engagement (RoE) Master Agreement Template (CERT-In Aligned)

Production-ready, customizable legal and technical Rules of Engagement (RoE) contract template for offensive adversary simulations, red teaming, and covert physical/digital penetration tests in India. Structured for full compliance with the Indian Information Technology Act 2000 (Section 43 & 66), CERT-In Incident Notification Rules, and SEBI CSCRF guidelines. Features formal scope definition, emergency STOP-TEST codes, out-of-bounds infrastructure clauses, evidence handling protocols, and executive indemnification.

By BlueCiphr Legal & Offensive Operations Desk • Lead CEH & PenTest+ Auditors

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Interactive Technical Checklist (7 Verification Checkpoints)

[Legal Authorization] Confirm execution of dual-signed Master Services Agreement (MSA) and Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with explicit Indian governing jurisdiction (Mumbai courts).

Mandate: IT Act Sec 43 Defense
[Legal Authorization] Secure written Board / CISO authorization specifying permitted offensive techniques (social engineering, assumed breach, network pivoting).

Mandate: Statutory Authority Attestation
[Scope Definition] Formally document in-scope CIDR blocks, hostnames, external domains, and cloud accounts, verifying ownership via DNS TXT records.

Mandate: Definitive Scope Mapping
[Scope Definition] Explicitly designate out-of-bounds assets (e.g. core payment processing engines, production databases, third-party vendor SaaS).

Mandate: Safe Operations Mandate
[Operational Protocol] Designate Emergency Trusted Contacts (ETCs) with 24x7 phone numbers and establish the emergency stop phrase ('CODE RED-HALT').

Mandate: Deconfliction Procedure
[Operational Protocol] Establish secure communications channel (Signal / encrypted email) for sharing live high-impact compromise discoveries within 2 hours.

Mandate: CERT-In Immediate Alert
[Clean-up & Debrief] Mandate complete removal of all persistence backdoors, test accounts, and uploaded staging scripts within 48 hours of test completion.

Mandate: System Restoration Guarantee

🇮🇳 Legal & Statutory Compliance Template: IT Act 2000 & SEBI CSCRF Red Teaming Standard

A meticulously drafted Rules of Engagement (RoE) is the cornerstone of any ethical adversary simulation. It ensures operational transparency, eliminates business disruption risks, and protects both the enterprise and practitioners under Indian law.

### Why a Standardized RoE is Vital for Indian Enterprises Unlike standard automated vulnerability scans, adversary simulations involve realistic offensive tactics: credential stuffing, lateral pivoting, EDR evasion, and spear-phishing. Without explicit boundaries signed by executive leadership, a simulation risks disrupting critical banking operations or creating ambiguity during simultaneous real-world threat events. ### Critical Clauses Included in this Master Template 1. **Deconfliction & Incident Coordination**: Clear guidelines on how the internal Blue Team/SOC coordinates with the Red Team when suspicious activity is detected. 2. **Handling Critical Vulnerabilities**: Immediate notification protocols if default root credentials or active ransomware beacons are uncovered on perimeter infrastructure. 3. **Data Protection & Evidence Disposal**: Strict zero-retention policies ensuring no customer personal data is ever exfiltrated or permanently stored on tester workstations.

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