New Delhi: With cyber-security acquiring critical significance in a world where the security situation and its challenges are changing extremely fast, a prestigious global study survey by a UN specialized agency for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) issues has ranked India in the tenth place in terms of commitment to cyber-security.
While the US tops the list at first rank, the second place is shared by the UK and Saudi Arabia followed by Estonia. At tenth position, India is ranked much above neighbours China at 33 rank and Pakistan at 79 rank.
Launched in Geneva on Tuesday, the 155-page report of the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) brought out by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN body, measures the commitment of 193 ITU member states and the State of Palestine to cyber-security by providing a description of the cyber-security measures taken by the countries.
The report serves the purpose of helping the countries to identify gaps, areas of improvement and encourage them to take targeted action.
The cyber-security index is calculated on the basis on responses to 82 questions across five areas that include legal measures, technical measures, organizational measures, capacity development measures and cooperation measures.
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India scored high on the parameters of legal measures, capacity development and cooperative measures with technical measures being an area marked out for potential growth.
The report also notes that the latest report comes in the middle of a deadly pandemic that has impacted the world like never before. It says: “The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected how societies operate. As the pandemic began to take hold in April 2020… Internet traffic increased by 30 per cent… There is an increased recognition of cybersecurity risk. The ongoing pandemic has created distrust, especially online.”
Meanwhile, in a study by the global think-tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) that was released on Monday (June 28, 2021), India has been placed in the third tier on a qualitative assessment of cyber power of 15 countries globally.
The report says: “India’s cyber-intelligence reach appears weak: it tends to rely on partnerships such as those with the US, the United Kingdom and France for a higher level of cyber situational awareness and to help it develop a greater reach of its own in future.”
The report also notes a Pakistan-centric approach on part of India: “Beyond the domestic threats, India’s cyber-intelligence capabilities have unsurprisingly been focused on its near abroad, particularly Pakistan. For example, there are indications that, since about 2010, Indian cyber teams have been targeting IP addresses in Pakistan (and to a lesser extent in China), as well as secessionist movements within India itself, in a significant cyber-surveillance and cyber-espionage operation.”
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“Overall, India’s focus on Pakistan will have given it useful operational experience and some viable regional offensive cyber capabilities. It will need to expand its cyber-intelligence reach to be able to deliver sophisticated offensive effect further afield, but its close collaboration with international partners, especially the US, will help it in that regard.”
