India enters top 10 in Global Cybersecurity Index 2020 rankings; jumps 37 places

India ranked 10th in the 4th edition of the Global Cybersecurity Index 2020 (GCI) on Tuesday, a significant leap of 37 places from its previous GCI rank in 2018. Breaking into the top 10 in the list released by the United Nations (UN) agency for information and communication technologies (ITU), India also ranked 4th in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to the GCI Index 2020, "For each of the pillars – (i) legal, (ii) technical, (iii) organizational, (iv) capacity development, and (v) cooperation – country commitment was assessed through a question-based online survey, which further allowed for the collection of supporting evidence. Through consultation with a group of experts, these questions were weighted in order to arrive at an overall GCI score."

The countries were asked 82 questions where 20 indicators were measured. Based on the assessment across the five pillars and 20 indicators, India achieved a consolidate score of 97.5.

US bags top spot in GCI rankings

The top rank in the GCI was secured by the US with a score of 100. The UK and Saudi Arabia followed second, tied for the next spot with a score of 99.54. Estonia was third and bagged a score of 99.48. In the Asia Pacific region, South Korea and Singapore ranked at the top with a score of 98.52, tied for the fourth spot globally. Other countries on the top of the index included Russia, UAE, and Malaysia at the fifth spot (98.06), Lithuania at the sixth, Japan at seventh, and Canada, France, and India following in subsequent positions. Meanwhile, the list featured China at the 33rd spot and Pakistan at the 79th spot in the GCI 2020 report.

In the last edition of the GCI in 2018, India was placed at the 47th spot and specifically in the Asia-Pacific region, was surpassed by countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan.