South Africa is the 31st worst country in the world when it comes to cyber security.
This was one of the findings of a Comparitech study, which looked at 76 countries this year, examining cyber security factors such as malware infection rates, number of financial malware attacks, cyber attack preparedness and cyber security legislation.
In 2019, the study of 60 countries found major differences in a number of categories, from malware rates to cyber security-related legislation. Not a single country came out tops across the board, with all needing some dramatic improvements.
The countries were ranked from the least cyber safe to the most cyber safe based on seven criteria, including the percentage of mobile devices infected with malware; the percentage of computers infected with malware; the number of financial malware attacks; the percentage of all telnet attacks by originating country; the percentage of users attacked by crypto-miners; the best-prepared countries for cyber attacks; and the countries with the most up-to-date cyber security legislation.
The study revealed the majority of countries improved their scores from last year. However, due to greater cyber security efforts from most countries, some of the best-performers from 2019 dropped down the rankings. This includes the US, which has dropped from the fifth most cyber-secure country to the 17th.
Algeria remained the least cyber-secure country despite its score improving slightly. With no new legislation, it is the country with the worst legislation. It also failed when it came to computer malware infection rates (19.75%) and its preparation for cyber attacks.
Other high-ranking countries were Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Syria and Iran, which took over from last year’s Indonesia, Vietnam, Tanzania and Uzbekistan.
The study showed Denmark is the most cyber-secure country, taking over from Japan, which dropped to the fifth most cyber-secure country. Denmark scored low across the most categories, only scoring slightly higher in the legislation category due to it not having specific laws that cover content and cyber crime.
Other countries that scored well include Sweden, Germany, Ireland and Japan. France, Canada and the US all dropped out of the top five and into ninth, sixth and 17th place, respectively.
The highest-scoring countries per category:
- Highest percentage of mobile malware infections: Iran (52.68% of users)
- Highest number of financial malware attacks: Belarus (2.9% of users)
- Highest percent of computer malware infections: Tunisia (23.26% of users)
- Highest percentage of telnet attacks (by originating country): China (13.78%)
- Highest percentage of attacks by crypto-miners: Tajikistan (7.9% of users)
- Least prepared for cyber attacks: Turkmenistan (0.115 score)
- Worst up-to-date legislation for cyber security: Algeria
The lowest-scoring countries per category:
- Lowest percentage of mobile malware infections: Finland (0.87% of users)
- Lowest number of financial malware attacks: Denmark, Ireland and Sweden (0.1% of users)
- Lowest percent of computer malware infections: Denmark (3.15% of users)
- Lowest percentage of telnet attacks (by originating country): Turkmenistan (0%)
- Lowest percentage of attacks by crypto-miners: Japan (0.17% of users)
- Best prepared for cyber attacks: United Kingdom (0.931 score)
- Most up-to-date legislation for cyber security: France, China, Russia and Germany (all seven categories covered)
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