Security News > 2021 > June > America tops ITU's Global Cyber Security Index, UK in tie for second with Saudi Arabia
The United Nations International Telecommunication Union published its 2020 Global Cyber Security Index on Tuesday, and listed the US first in overall ranking, followed by a tie for second place tie between the UK and Saudi Arabia.
The index ranks nations using 82 questions developed by a panel of experts.
All ITU members are then ranked on a 100-point scale.
The report opens with good news: the median score for the 2020 index is 9.5 per cent higher than in the 2018 edition.
Another positive finding from the Index is that the number of governments that formed a national computer incident response team rose by 11 per cent since 2018, meaning around half of ITU members now have a CIRT. Sixty-four per cent have adopted a national cybersecurity strategy, up from 58 per cent, and 70 per cent conducted cybersecurity awareness campaigns in 2020, up from 66 percent.
Despite a projected global shortage of half a million cybersecurity professionals for 2021, the report said countries weren't developing sector-specific training.