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While the US, the United Kingdom and Russia are expected to sit high on any list of cyber nations, one surprise name also mixes with the best, highlighting the value of having solid allies over technical prowess.
Malaysia came in eighth out of 194 states in this year’s Global Cybersecurity Index by the International Telecoms Union, a United Nations agency.
With 98.06 out of a possible 100 points, the Southeast Asian country was only fractionally behind Singapore and South Korea, and equal with Russia. It’s been in the top 10 since the first report was released in 2014.
While neither a technology powerhouse nor a
prolific hacker, Malaysia’s standing comes from an early commitment to cybersecurity issues and a solid national strategy. Yet, other developing countries could learn a lot from Kuala Lumpur’s ability to apply its long-standing geopolitical strength to the electronic realm where information is as valuable as weaponry.
The country’s first cybersecurity policy dates back at least 15 years and outlines areas of key importance. Today, the government operates a Critical National
Information Infrastructure portal for sharing information and a coordination and command centre that deals with crises and evaluates the national threat level daily.
It’s also been running annual drills, called X-Maya,
to test its readiness and
to game-plan attack scenarios, while implementing a scheme to evaluate and
certify the security of technology products such as data storage, access control
systems, and networking equipment. Many of these measures are carried out elsewhere and aren’t necessarily unique to Malaysia.
Yet underlying the ITU’s assessment is a nation’s commitment to cybersecurity issues and practice, and its focus on improvement, rather than actual capability. That’s why the country rates so highly.
Global cooperation helps make up for the fact that Malaysia’s own cyber proficiencies are sometimes lacking. In fact, if skill alone was the deciding factor, the nation would be rated much more poorly.
—Bloomberg