Australia drops four places in UN cyber security top ten

Australia has fallen down to seventh spot in the United Nations International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) list of countries most committed to cyber security for 2017.

The ITU's second global cyber security index (GCI) scores Australia highly for legal, technical, organisational, and capacity building capabilities and commitment when it comes to cyber security.

However, Australia's 2017 ranking has seen it drop four places since the first GCI report in 2014 [pdf], despite having launched a dedicated national cyber security strategy in mid-2016.

Australia ranked the lowest of the top ten cyber-savvy nations for co-operation.

The ITU gave specific credit, however, to Australia for its Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers (CREST) infosec skills accreditation program.

The scores for the GCI are calculated through 25 indicators and 157 survey questions. 

For 2017, Singapore earned the top spot overall followed by the United States, Malaysia, Oman, Estonia, and Mauritius.

Georgia, France, and Canada take the last three spots in the GCI top ten this year.

Although the ITU found that cyber security has become more relevant for nations in the wake of threats such as ransomware, espionage groups, and weaponised exploits, the organisation said there is still an gap between countries in awareness, understanding, knowledge and ability to deploy proper strategies and capabilities.

The ITU said 134 member states responded to the survey, which was undertaken last year.