The Philippines has made significant progress in cybersecurity as it now ranks 53rd, from 61st in 2020, on the United Nations Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2024 report.
The GCI measures the commitment of countries to cybersecurity in the context across five pillars include legal, technical organizational, capacity develometn and cooperation.
The report, released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on September 12, revealed the Philippines’ cybersecurity score rose to 93.49 points from 77 points in 2020.
This puts the Philippines just 1.51 points away from joining Tier 1, which includes the world’s best in cybersecurity laws, technology, organizations, training and international cooperation.
The latest GCI report the current level of cybersecurity commitment among 193 ITU member-states.
The Philippines’ jump from Tier 3 (Evolving) to Tier 2 (Advancing) highlights the country’s marked improvements in key areas like providing technical skills, collaborating with other countries, organizing its cybersecurity efforts and building its capacity to fight cyber threats. The GCI introduced the five-tier level system this year.
Tier 2 represents countries that have obtained an overall score of at least 85/100 by demonstrating a strong cybersecurity commitment to coordinated and government-driven actions that encompass evaluating, establishing or implementing certain generally accepted cybersecurity measures in up to four pillars or a substantial number of indicators.
“This is a huge achievement for the Philippines. It shows that our hard work to protect Filipinos online is bearing fruit, but we are not stopping here. We are on the brink of being a global leader in cybersecurity and we will continue working to safeguard our digital world,” Ivan John Uy, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) secretary, said in a statement over the weekend.
DICT attributed the significant progress to the government’s focus on strengthening cybersecurity through the National Cybersecurity Plan (NCSP) 2023-2028.
In April 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 58 mandating all government agencies to adopt the NCSP 2023-2028, ensuring that the country is better protected against cyberattacks and online threats.
With this momentum, the Philippines is on track to become a global cybersecurity leader, ensuring a safe and secure online environment for every Filipino.
ITU’s GCI 2024 assessed national efforts across five pillars, representing country-level cybersecurity commitments: legal, technical, organizational, capacity development and cooperation.
In a statement last week, ITU explained that it also uses a new five-tier analysis, a shift that allows greater focus on each country’s advances with cybersecurity commitments and resulting impacts.
The report places 46 countries in Tier 1, the highest of the five tiers, reserved for “role modelling” countries that demonstrate a strong commitment in all five cybersecurity pillars.
Most countries are either “establishing” (Tier 3) or “evolving” (Tier 4) in terms of cybersecurity. The 105 countries in these tiers have largely expanded digital services and connectivity but still need to integrate cybersecurity measures, the ITU said.
A “cybercapacity gap” — characterized by limitations in skills, staffing, equipment and funding — was evident in many countries and across all regional groups, it added.
“ITU’s cybersecurity projects and programs are supporting those national efforts to more effectively manage cyberthreats, and I hope that the progress demonstrated by this latest index encourages countries to do more in developing secure and trustworthy digital systems and networks,” said Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau.
