Morocco, among the world leaders in cybersecurity, according to the International Telecommunication Union

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has released its 2024 Global Cybersecurity Index, which assesses the measures taken by countries around the world to ensure telecommunications security.

Morocco, a model country

According to this index, Morocco has been placed in the highest category, Tier 1, comprising countries that are considered as a model to follow in cybersecurity. By way of comparison, other countries in the same category as Morocco are Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Japan, the United States and Spain, which confirms Morocco's commitment to the highest standards of cybersecurity.

The index ranks countries according to five key indicators: legal, technical, organisational, capacity building and cooperation. Morocco obtained the following scores in the different sections: legal measures (20/20); technical measures (18.12/20); organisational measures (20/20); capacity building measures (19.38/20) and cooperation measures (20/20).

In total, the country achieved a score of 97.5 out of 100, placing it in the first category, described by the ITU as ‘Role Model’, which includes all countries that have scored 95 points or more in the different sections.

According to the report, Tier 1 countries have demonstrated ‘a strong commitment to cybersecurity with coordinated, government-led actions encompassing the assessment, establishment and implementation of certain generally accepted cybersecurity measures across all indicators’.

This time, 46 countries are included in the first category of the index, up from 21 in the 2021 edition, reflecting the increasing concern of governments to ensure cybersecurity. Within the Arab world, Morocco is joined in this first category or Tier 1 by Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

As can be seen in the attached graph, Europe dominates the Tier 1 category, with 20 countries, compared with 11 from the Asia-Pacific region, eight from the Arab countries, five from Africa and two from the Americas.

Commitment to cybersecurity

According to the ITU, countries in the highest category have implemented comprehensive measures in various areas of cybersecurity, including strong legal frameworks; technical capabilities such as national response teams (groups responsible for responding to security breaches, viruses and other potentially catastrophic incidents in enterprises facing significant security risks); national cybersecurity structures; capacity building initiatives; and active participation in international cooperation efforts.

Morocco has followed this line of strengthening global commitments to cybersecurity, which has led in recent years to more countries achieving higher overall scores.

Analysis of the Global Cybersecurity Index data reveals that the overall average score of countries has reached 65.7 points out of 100, representing a growth of 27% compared to the same index in 2020.

The ITU highlights that Tier 1 countries have made significant progress in implementing privacy and data protection regulations; establishing emergency response teams; disseminating awareness campaigns; and participating in international cybersecurity agreements.

Although Morocco's inclusion in the group of role models endorses its commitment to improving its cybersecurity capabilities, the ITU reminds countries in this first group that ‘there is always room for growth, refinement and adaptation, regardless of a country's GCI score’.

Other categories

The index is completed by four other categories. Tier 2 or ‘Advancing’ groups countries that have scored between 85 and 95. This group includes, among others, Austria, Canada, China, Israel, Russia, South Africa and Switzerland.

Tier 3 or ‘Establishing’ includes countries that have obtained between 55 and 85 points and includes, in addition to New Zealand and Monaco, some countries geographically close to Morocco but very different in terms of their level of cybersecurity, such as Algeria, Iran, Libya and Tunisia.

Tier 4, ‘Evolving’, includes countries with a score between 20 and 55 points, such as Argentina, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria.

Finally, Tier 5, ‘Building’, is the lowest tier, with countries scoring between 0 and 20 points. This group includes, for example, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Yemen and the Vatican.