Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2017

• India is ranked a high 23rd out of 165 nations in a global index that measures the commitment of nations across the world to cybersecurity.

Highlights:

• Half of all countries have a cybersecurity strategy or are in the process of developing one and urged more countries to consider national policies to protect against cybercrime.
• India is ranked 23rd on the index with a score of 0.683 and has been listed in the "maturing" category, which refers to 77 countries that have developed complex commitments to cybersecurity and engage in cybersecurity programmes and initiatives.
• The index has been topped by Singapore with a 0.925 score.
• About 38 per cent of countries have a published cybersecurity strategy and an additional 12 per cent of governments are in the process of developing one.
• More effort is needed in this critical area, particularly since it conveys that governments consider digital risks high priority.
• Cybersecurity is an ecosystem where laws, organisations, skills, cooperation and technical implementation need to be in harmony to be most effective.
• The top 10 most committed countries to cybersecurity are Singapore, United States, Malaysia, Oman, Estonia, Mauritius, Australia, Georgia, France and Canada. Russia is ranked 11th.
• In addition to showing the overall cybersecurity commitment of ITU's 193 member-states, the Index also shows the improvement and strengthening of the five pillars of the ITU Global Cybersecurity Agenda: legal, technical, organisational, capacity building and international cooperation.
• The threat is particularly worrying as in 2016, nearly one per cent of all emails sent were essentially malicious attacks, the highest rate in recent years.

About Global Cybersecurity index 

• The Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) is a multi-stakeholder initiative to measure the commitment of countries to cybersecurity.
• Cybersecurity has a wide field of application that cuts across many industries and sectors.
• Each country’s level of development will therefore be analyzed within five categories: Legal Measures, Technical Measures, Organizational Measures, Capacity Building and Cooperation.

By: Vishal