# Introduction
With the explosive growth of the digital era, cybersecurity incidents have become frequent, posing significant risks to businesses and society. The “National Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Regulation” provides clear legal basis and operational guidelines for network operators within China, ensuring quick response and proper handling of incidents. This article thoroughly explains the regulation’s core components to help enterprises and IT security experts fully grasp incident classification, reporting procedures, and reporting requirements, achieving compliant and efficient cybersecurity management.
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## Cybersecurity Incident Classification and Reporting Deadlines
Incident classification is a crucial prerequisite for safeguarding information network security. According to the latest regulation, cybersecurity incidents are categorized as “significant”, “major”, and “especially major”, each with different reporting deadlines and responsible departments.
### Identification and Reporting Process for Significant Incidents
Significant incidents may include portal websites being inaccessible within 2 hours, infrastructure downtime exceeding 10 minutes, or leakage of over 1 million personal records. In such cases, network operators must report to the provincial Cyber Administration within 4 hours.
For example, if an e-commerce platform suffers a DDoS attack during a promotional event causing over an hour of downtime and partial user data breach, this qualifies as a significant incident. The enterprise’s IT security head should immediately activate emergency plans, maintain monitoring data integrity, and proactively report to provincial authorities.
### Rapid Response Requirements for Major and Especially Major Incidents
Major incidents involve portal downtime of up to 6 hours, overall infrastructure interruption for more than 1 hour, or personal data leaks exceeding 10 million records. These require reporting within 1 hour to provincial or national Cyber Administration. Especially major incidents, such as APT attacks crippling core systems and leaking hundreds of millions of records, demand emergency reporting within 30 minutes to national Cyber and Public Security departments.
Enterprises must initiate highest-level response processes, safeguard evidence on-site, assist investigations, and expedite reporting.
This scientific classification and strict timing improve incident responsiveness and coverage.
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## National Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Procedures and Key Content
### Reporting Procedures: Monitoring, Classification, and Multi-department Coordination
Upon incident occurrence, initial steps include self-monitoring and judgment to determine incident level. For significant and above:
– Critical information infrastructure operators prioritize reporting to protection and public security departments;
– Other operators report to provincial Cyberspace Administration;
– Central government agencies report to their department Cyber Administration within 2 hours and national Cyber Administration within 1 hour for major incidents.
Timely supplementary reports on new developments and closing summaries within 30 days ensure closed-loop management and continuous improvement.
### Essential Report Contents
Reports must include these six core elements:
1. Unit and system overview: name, responsible systems, and basic info;
2. Incident details: time, location, type, classification, impacted scope, and emergency actions taken;
3. Development trends and preliminary cause analysis;
4. Traceability clues: attacker identification, attack paths, exploited vulnerabilities;
5. Follow-up response measures and support needs;
6. On-site protection measures and additional notes.
These details help regulators correctly assess incident severity and support follow-up handling scientifically.
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## Responsibilities and Incentives: Compliance Is the Best Defense
The regulation highlights strict penalties for delayed, omitted, or false reporting. Conversely, sound cybersecurity measures and timely reporting can mitigate or exempt penalties. This sends a strong warning to enterprises and security teams to prioritize cybersecurity investment and build early-warning and response systems.
Additionally, social organizations and the public are encouraged to participate in reporting significant and above incidents, creating a multi-layered governance structure. The official hotline (12387) provides multiple reporting channels.
The regulation takes effect on November 1, 2025, urging enterprises to prepare in advance.
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## Key Recommendations for Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Practice
– Enhance automation and intelligence of monitoring systems by leveraging AI and Security Operation Centers (SOC) to improve detection and classification efficiency;
– Establish cross-departmental cooperation, especially with public security Cyber Administration, to ensure seamless information sharing;
– Conduct regular specialized training and drills to raise security awareness and emergency response capabilities;
– Improve incident reporting templates and procedural standards to minimize errors and omissions;
– Align with the Cybersecurity Law and other regulations to optimize the overall compliance framework.
For example, a state-owned enterprise built a real-time monitoring plus automated classification system, enabling incident classification and reporting within ten minutes, greatly reducing response time.
The official legal texts can be found on the National Cyberspace Administration website at [https://www.cac.gov.cn/2025-09/15/c_1759583017717009.htm](https://www.cac.gov.cn/2025-09/15/c_1759583017717009.htm).
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## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
**Q1: What is the National Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Regulation?**
A1: It is a legal and regulatory framework promulgated by the Chinese government to standardize and guarantee cybersecurity incident reporting, response, and handling.
**Q2: Which units does the regulation apply to?**
A2: All network operators within the territory, including owners, managers, and service providers.
**Q3: How are cybersecurity incidents classified?**
A3: Into significant, major, and especially major incidents based on portal website availability, infrastructure downtime, and volume of personal data leaked.
**Q4: What is the reporting deadline for significant incidents?**
A4: Within 4 hours to the provincial Cyberspace Administration.
**Q5: What are the consequences of not reporting timely?**
A5: Delayed, omitted, or false reports will be severely punished according to law; timely reporting and proper protection may reduce or exempt responsibility.
**Q6: How can the public report cybersecurity incidents?**
A6: Through official hotline 12387 via website, email, and fax channels.
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As November 1, 2025 approaches, enterprises and institutions must deeply understand the regulation and enhance internal systems to build highly agile incident response frameworks. Continuous investment and compliance ensure their invincible position in the digital age.
For those interested in building efficient cybersecurity monitoring and response systems, please visit De-line Information Technology official website [https://www.de-line.net](https://www.de-line.net) for professional services and solutions. Let us work together to create a safer digital future! 🚀🔒
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