Recently, the Global Cybersecurity Index 2020 (GCI 2020) – 4th Edition was released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN agency for Information & Communication Technologies (ICT). India with a score of 97.5 has been ranked 10th (India was placed at the 47th spot in the last edition of GCI in 2018) in the Index. The US topped the Index, UK & Saudi Arabia shared the 2nd spot while Estonia took the 3rd rank.
- Among the Asia-Pacific nations, South Korea & Singapore topped the index, while India was ranked 4th.
| Rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | India | 97.5 |
| 1 | United States (US) | 100 |
| 2 | United Kingdom (UK) | 99.54 |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 99.54 |
| 3 | Estonia | 99.48 |
Global Cybersecurity Index
i.The index measures the commitment of 193 ITU member States & Palestine to cybersecurity at a global level based on 5 pillars – Legal Measures, Technical Measures, Organizational Measures, Capacity Development, and Cooperation.
ii.The performance of the countries and commitment were assessed through a question-based online survey.
Key Points
i.The report states that 64% of countries adopted a National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) by 2020.
ii.More than 70% conducted cybersecurity awareness campaigns in 2020 compared to 58% and 66% respectively, in 2018.
iii.More than half of the countries around the world have formed a National Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT), indicating an 11% increase since 2018.
iv.The report states that many countries and regions lag in areas like Cybersecurity skills training; Finance, healthcare, energy, and other key sectors; critical infrastructure protection; individual data protection.
v.India has been ranked ahead of China (33) & Pakistan (79) in the global cybersecurity ranking of countries.
Recent Related News:
On November 30, 2020, Kaspersky, a cyber security firm and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) announced a strategic partnership for improving mutual cybersecurity capabilities by working together in order to create a safe and secure cyberspace in India.
About International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Secretary General – Houlin Zhao
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
