Pakistan gets top tier cybersecurity status

Pakistan's inclusion in the top tiers of a global cybersecurity index was hailed on Friday by the State Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja.

Pakistan was ranked in Tier 1 of the International Telecommunication Union's Global Cybersecurity Index 2024 report.

Tier 1, the highest of the five tiers and labelled "role-modelling" has a score of 95 to 100, and features 46 countries. In the previous edition of the Global Cybersecurity Index report, Pakistan ranked 79.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, Khawaja said the report indicated that Pakistan's legal, technical, capacity development, skill development, and organisational advancement are role models.

"The Global Cybersecurity Index 2024 shows significant improvements by countries that are implementing essential legal measures, plans, capacity building initiatives, and cooperation frameworks, especially in strengthening incident response capabilities," the report quoted Khawaja as saying.

"Pakistan has performed exceptionally well in the latest ranking and has been placed in Tier 1, alongside countries like the United States, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia.