The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has achieved a new global milestone by ranking second among 193 countries, and first place in the Arab world, the Middle East, and Asia in the Global Cybersecurity Index, published by the United Nations agency specializing in information and communications technology, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ,” thereby jumping 11 places from 2018 and more than 40 places since the launch of Vision 2030, when it was ranked 46th globally in the 2017 edition of the index.
The National Cybersecurity Authority explained that this achievement is, by the grace of God, followed by the tremendous support from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defense

• may God protect them both—for the Kingdom’s cybersecurity ecosystem, enabling it to achieve a secure and reliable cyberspace that fosters growth and prosperity.
  The Authority noted that the Global Cybersecurity Index is conducted periodically based on five main pillars: the legal pillar, the technical pillar, the regulatory pillar, the capacity-building pillar, and the cooperation pillar. This is done by analyzing countries" performance across 80 sub-indicators, with the aim of raising the level of cybersecurity and promoting the exchange of expertise and best practices among nations worldwide.
  The Kingdom achieved high scores across all these pillars, and among the most significant factors contributing to this leap forward were the establishment of a specialized authority for cybersecurity, the issuance of policies, governance mechanisms, frameworks, standards, controls, and guidelines related to cybersecurity, and monitoring compliance with them, building capacity and expertise, developing relevant performance metrics, continuously monitoring the cybersecurity situation in the Kingdom, and launching the National Cybersecurity Strategy. In addition, it is essential to strengthen cooperation with other countries and international organizations and to launch global initiatives, such as the International Cybersecurity Forum and the initiatives of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince —may God protect him—to protect children in the digital world and empower women in the field of cybersecurity, as well as the public-private partnership.
  In its statement, the Authority affirmed that it will continue to redouble its efforts to achieve a secure and reliable Saudi cyberspace that enables growth and prosperity by strengthening cooperation and joint action with national entities so that the Kingdom —God willing—to remain a leading nation in the field of cybersecurity and to fulfill the aspirations of the wise leadership—may God support them.