In 2021, cybercrime cost the world $6 trillion. And by 2025, according to projections, this cost could reach $10.50 trillion. However, cybercrime is only one facet of risks alongside cyberattacks and cyberterrorism. Governments, individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations, etc. are at risk of cyberattacks and data breaches every day. These attacks will multiply with the evolution of digital technologies, the increase in the number of connected devices and users, the increasingly strategic role of data in the digital economy, etc.
By combining all these risks, the bill will be much higher. Hence the interest for each country to have excellent cybersecurity systems to minimize, as much as possible, the risk of an attack and secure systems and data that present economic, strategic and political issues that go well beyond the security of information systems alone.
The Global Cybersecurity Index (GFI) assesses the level of preparedness of countries in terms of cybersecurity, i.e. the capacity of States to protect their critical infrastructures, their sensitive data and to respond effectively to cyber threats and incidents.
Read also: ICT Development Index: Continental Top 5 in 2024, according to ITU
Which countries are best prepared in the world? The Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations development agency specializing in information and communication technologies, gives an idea of the countries most and least equipped in cybersecurity.
For this assessment, ITU measures countries’ cybersecurity commitments across 5 fundamental pillars: legal measures (cybersecurity and cybercrime laws and regulations), technical measures, organizational measures (national strategies and organization), capacity development (awareness, training, education and incentives) and cooperation (partnerships between agencies, companies and countries). In total, these 5 pillars include 20 indicators and sub-indicators.
A questionnaire of 82 questions was sent to the 194 Member States to obtain the data necessary to establish the ranking.One of the key changes in this edition is the shift from ranking countries to using a five-tiered perspective to visualize countries’ cybersecurity commitments. This tiered perspective allows for a greater focus on the extent of progress on cybersecurity commitments and what this can mean for countries.“, according to the report.
Read also: South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria in the crosshairs of cyberattacks. Who will be next?
According to this method, almost all regions have high and low performing countries. Thus, of the 194 countries covered by the ranking, 46 are classified in Tier 1 (T1), the highest. These are countries that have made significant improvements in all five pillars of the GCI.Although a score of 100/100 reflects a strong commitment to cybersecurity, it does not mean that further work is not needed in terms of adopting appropriate cybersecurity measures in response to changing countries’ operating environments and the evolving cybersecurity ecosystem.“, the ITU report highlights.
The cost of cybercrime is expected to reach $10.5 billion by 2025. Added to this are the costs resulting from cyberattacks and cyberterrorism. . DR
Among these 46 best-equipped countries are 7 African countries. According to the GCI 2023-2024 ranking, Egypt and Mauritius are the best-equipped African countries with perfect scores of 100 points, obtained at the level of the five pillars, at a rate of 20/20 for each pillar.
As for Egypt, in addition to the central role played by the Egyptian National Computer Emergency Readiness Team (EG-CERT), operating under the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, the implementation of the National Cybersecurity Strategy for the period 2023-2027 and proactive efforts to raise awareness of cybersecurity risks and challenges have strengthened defenses against cyber threats and placed the country among the best equipped in the world.
Read also: Cybercrime: 40% of African Internet users victims of online scams (survey)
Behind these two countries come Ghana (99.27 points/100), Tanzania (99.26 points/100), Kenya (98.59 points/100), Rwanda (98.32 points/100) and Morocco (97.50 points/100).
The 7 African countries best equipped to deal with cyber threats and incidents (score/100)
| Egypt | Ghana | Kenya | Mauritius | Morocco | Rwanda | Tanzania | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal measures | 20 | 20 | 19.52 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Technical measures | 20 | 20 | 19.07 | 20 | 18.12 | 18.98 | 19.69 |
| Organizational measures | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19.34 | 20 |
| Development capabilities | 20 | 19.27 | 20 | 20 | 19.38 | 19.76 | 19.57 |
| Cooperation | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Overall score | 100 | 99.27 | 98.59 | 100 | 97.50 | 98.32 | 99.26 |
Source: ITU Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), 2024
However, most countries (105 States) were classified in the T3 and T4 categories, representing those that still have work to do to be better equipped and able to face cyber threats. Thus, a country like the Central African Republic only achieves an overall score of 4.76 points/100, points obtained only at the level of the “Legal measures” pillar. On the other hand, the country obtained a score of 0/20 at the level of each of the other 4 pillars.
In the Maghreb, Algeria obtained an overall score of 65.87 points/100. While the country obtained a good score in terms of “Legal Measures” (19.18/20), this was not the case for the other indicators: Technical Measures (8.57/20), Organizational Measures (11.02/20), Capacity Development (13.91/20) and Cooperation (13.19/20).
Thus, the fifth edition of the ITU Global Cybersecurity Index will help the lowest-ranked African countries identify areas for improvement and encourage them to take action to strengthen capacities and capabilities in each pillar to better address cyber threats.
Related News :