India jumps to No.10 on Global Cyber Security Index

India jumps to No.10 on Global Cyber Security Index; China at 33, Pakistan 79: UN study

Global Cyber Security Index: UN study moves India to rank 10 from rank 47 in 2019. China and Pakistan lag behind at rank 33 and 79 respectively. 

India is now ranked at No. 10 on the Global Cyber Security Index, up from No. 47 in 2019, as per a study by the United Nations. The same index ranks China at No. 33 and Pakistan at No. 79.

Speaking at the UN Security Council debate on International Peace and Cyber Security, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said digital gaps amongst nations create an unsustainable environment in the cyber domain. He added that growing digital reliance in the post-COVID era has exposed digital disparities which must be bridged through capacity building.

The foreign secretary further called on UNSC member states to tackle the implications of terrorist exploitation of the cyber domain more strategically.

"There's a sophisticated use of cyberspace by terrorists to broaden their propaganda and incite hatred. As a victim of terrorism, India has always emphasized the need for the Member States to tackle implications of terrorist exploitation of cyber domain more strategically," he said.

The UNSC held its first formal public meeting on cybersecurity, addressing the growing threat of cyber hacks to countries' key infrastructure, an issue US President Joe Biden recently raised with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

"In the United Nations first committee, we already have agreed in 2015, which is six years ago, that we are refraining from malicious cyber activities against each other's critical infrastructures as UN member states," said one European ambassador who specializes in cybersecurity.

India also participated in the annual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Senior Officials' Meeting today, where Secretary (East) Riva Das Ganguly highlighted India's perspectives on addressing the threat posed by terrorism and the challenges of cybersecurity. 

In a press release, the MEA said that several points were discussed in the meeting, and senior officials in the forum discussed views on several regional and international issues.