National Cyber Power Index 2020

This report presents a methodology on how to rank countries’ cyber capabilities. The authors outline seven main uses of cyber capabilities: “1. Surveilling and Monitoring Domestic Groups; 2. Strengthening and Enhancing National Cyber Defenses; 3. Controlling and Manipulating the Information Environment; 4. Foreign Intelligence Collection for National Security; 5. Commercial Gain or Enhancing Domestic Industry Growth; 6. Destroying or Disabling an Adversary’s Infrastructure and Capabilities; and, 7. Defining International Cyber Norms and Technical Standards.” The ranking factors, for each of the seven objectives, whether a country intends to use their cyber means for that objective (intent) and whether the country has the capability to use their cyber means for that objective (capability). Based off this ranking, the authors determined that the U.S. continues to rank #1 in cyber power, followed by China, the U.K., Russia, and the Netherlands. The ranking suggests that cyber power, with the exception of Russia and China, is still concentrated between Western powers. Moreover, this report’s methodology is useful for assessing how the global cyber power distribution changes over time.