Morocco is ranked 49th by the United Nations Global Security Index issued to investigate how the 193 Member States promote a safer use of the Internet. The think tank puts Morocco as one of the maturing nations performing better compared to neighboring countries like Algeria. The United Nations Global Cybersecurity Index ranks Morocco 49th among 193 Member States. The annual report that investigates the status of cybersecurity for several countries considers the Kingdom as one of the maturing nations that put efforts to improve the use of the Internet. The Kingdom was also ranked 3rd in Africa and 7th in the MENA region. Launched by the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for the second year, the index indicates that Morocco «has developed complex commitments, and engaged in cybersecurity programs and initiatives», overtaking neighboring countries like Algeria, 67th in the world. As abovementioned, Morocco is part of the Maturing list which consists of 77 countries that have been able to challenge their cybersecurity current status and work on developing and improving it, such as Iceland, Germany, Italy, South Africa and Tunisia. The report also has two other lists namely Initiating and Leading. According to the same source, «the initiating stage refers to the 96 countries that have started to make commitments in cybersecurity», while «the leading stage refers to the 21 countries that demonstrate high commitment in all five pillars of the index». A safer use of the Internet The global ranking was topped by Singapore which was ranked 1st and followed by the United States of America 2nd, Malaysia 3rd, Oman 4th, and Estonia 5th. The index ranks these countries on the basis of 25 indicators and 157 questions. These calculate the cybersecurity status relying on certain criteria namely «relevance to the five GCA pillars and in contributing towards the main GCI objectives and conceptual framework; data availability and quality; possibility of cross verification through secondary data». «As the global community rapidly embraces ICTs as key enabler for social and economic development, it is vital that cybersecurity is made an integral and indivisible part of the digital transformation» Brahima Sanou, Director of the ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau said in a communiqué issued following the release of the GCI. «We continue to encourage governments to consider national policies that take into account cybersecurity so that everyone can reap the benefits of the online world», he concluded.
