Singapore Tops UN Cybersecurity Survey

Singapore came out on top of a cybersecurity survey by the United Nations while the US was second overall, but the rest of the top-ten included some countries that were developing or small.

Following the US were Malaysia, Oman, Estonia, Mauritius, Australia, Georgia, France (both tied at eighth), and Canada in the survey by the U.N. International Telecommunciations Union (ITU). Russia was 11th followed by a tie between Japan and Norway. Germany placed 26th overall for its cybersecurity approach while China was 34th.

The survey results were largely based on the five pillars of the ITU Global Cybersecurity Agenda: legal, technical, organizational, capacity building and international cooperation.

While cybersecurity is key to countries' digital transformations, the survey said there was an "evident gap between countries in terms of awareness, understanding, knowledge, and finally capacity to deploy the proper strategies, capabilities, and programs."

In order to be more effective, countries need to create a cybersecurity ecosystem comprising laws, organizations, skills, cooperation and technical implementation. ITU said the first crucial step was countries adopting a national security strategy.

In order to benefit the online world as a whole, "more cooperation should be initiated between developed and developing countries to assist them in cybersecurity development." The survey cited recent ransomware attacks as a primary driver for better worldwide cooperation.

The survey, which was released Wednesday, was based on data from the ITU's 193 member states.

— Mike Robuck, Editor, Telco Transformation