ASTANA — Kazakhstan improved its global cybersecurity ranking by securing a place in the second “advancing” group in the latest UN Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on Sept.12.
Global Cybersecurity Index 2024: Five pillars for measuring the commitment of countries to cybersecurity. Photo credit: GCI 2024 Report_International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
This ranking evaluates the readiness of 194 countries to counter cyberattacks, using 83 parameters that cover cybersecurity areas, including legal, technical, and organizational aspects, capacity development, and international cooperation.
The 2024 report introduced a new five-level ranking system, which gives a clearer view of how each country is improving its cybersecurity efforts and the effects of those improvements. The five levels include Tier 1: role modeling, Tier 2: advancing, Tier 3: establishing, Tier 4: evolving, and Tier 5: building.
Kazakhstan’s GCI fifth edition performance. Photo credit: GCI 2024 Report_International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Kazakhstan demonstrated strong performance across these parameters, earning a maximum of 20 points for legal and cooperation measures. It also scored 19.38 points for technical measures, 18.3 points for organizational measures, and 16.36 points for capacity development. With an overall score of 94.04 out of 100, Kazakhstan secured a position in Tier 2, confirming its progress in cybersecurity development.
In the previous edition published in 2021, Kazakhstan scored 93.15 out of 100 points.
As the report notes, Tier 2, which includes 29 nations, “represents countries that have obtained an overall score of at least 85/100 by demonstrating a strong cybersecurity commitment to coordinated and government-driven actions that encompass evaluating, establishing or implementing certain generally accepted cybersecurity measures in up to four pillars or a substantial number of indicators.”
Every region worldwide has shown progress since the previous report in 2021.
“Building trust in the digital world is paramount,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “The progress seen in the Global Cybersecurity Index is a sign that we must continue to focus efforts to ensure that everyone, everywhere, can safely and securely manage cyber threats in today’s increasingly complex digital landscape.”
The report calls on countries to take “stronger actions” to meet evolving cyber threats.
