TI Inside hears from Maneira Advogados partner about Brazil's improvement in the global cybersecurity ranking

Report from the portal TI Inside showed that Brazil rose 53 positions in the Global Cybersecurity Index. The ranking was released this week by the International Telecommunications Union. The report highlighted a comment from Dr. Anna Luiza Berredo, partner in the TMT, Privacy & Data Protection area at Maneira Advogados.

Brazil improves position in global cybersecurity rankings

July 5, 2021

Brazil rose 53 positions and went from 71st to 18th place in the Global Cybersecurity Index 2020, released in this week by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) – an agency specialized in information and communication technologies of the United Nations (UN). Among the countries in America, Brazil is in 3rd place, behind only the United States and Canada.

In this fourth edition of the survey, 193 countries were surveyed in total. "The position achieved by our country demonstrates the growing commitment of the Brazilian government to face and reduce threats to cybersecurity, even in the face of the challenges faced with the Covid-19 pandemic, which required the rapid adaptation of daily activities and socioeconomic services to the digital sphere. The advancement of digital transformation must be accompanied by the protection of users, and we have ensured this protection", highlights the special secretary for Debureaucratization, Management and Digital Government of the Ministry of Economy, Caio Mario Paes de Andrade.

Today, the federal government's digital platform, the gov.br, already has 107 million users – around half of the Brazilian population – and with the double security factor for access to the three thousand digital services available to citizens. Cybersecurity is part of the Reliable Government axis of Digital Government Strategy 2020-2022.

What is measured

The ITU Global Index measures countries' actions to address cyber risks. It is obtained from the assessment of five aspects: legal, technical, cooperative, organizational and capacity-building measures.

The objective is to increase awareness of nations' commitments to cybersecurity, identify strengths and areas where improvements are needed, in addition to sharing updated security practices.

According to the ITU, Nations in general have intensified their security strategies following the increase in cyberattacks. The UN agency warns that the world could lose US$6 trillion this year in the area of ​​personal and financial data protection as a result of crimes online.

Which had a positive impact

A score on the ITU Global Index indicates that the country has implemented more measures among those evaluated. The Brazilian government has been advancing over the last few years with its data security and privacy policy, aiming for cyber maturity.

“This achievement is due to the serious and intense teamwork of President Jair Bolsonaro's government. The effectiveness of the legislation drawn up, always listening to the different sectors of society, was a decisive factor in obtaining this result. The cyber security network, which covers all federal public bodies and entities, coordinated by the Institutional Security Office (GSI), has gained credibility and has received cooperative membership of relevant national and international cybernetic bodies', highlights the GSI's special advisor for Information Security, General Oliveira Freitas. “This increased the level of security for all participants, raising Brazil's concept in the cyber universe”, he adds.

The Secretary of Digital Government of the Ministry of Economy, Luis Felipe Monteiro reinforces: “We work intensely on the digital transformation of the federal government, placing services in the palm of the population's hands. As in all countries, the transition to digital has added security and privacy risks. We advanced in the index due to the efforts of several bodies dedicated to protecting Brazilians in the digital environment”, says the secretary.

Comments

“The acceleration of digital transformation in Brazil requires both the adoption, by the Brazilian State, of public policies and technical and regulatory initiatives that safeguard cybersecurity, as well as the collaboration and engagement of other Brazilian agents related to the operation of critical infrastructures and the development of secure products and services. The newest edition of the Global Cybersecurity Index, by the ITU, despite still pointing out regional gaps based on very specific criteria, especially in Africa and Asia, also shows the advances made by countries in relation to their national stances. In the Brazilian case, essentially due to the adoption of new legal frameworks focused on the protection of personal data and cybersecurity, including through the institutional reorganization of the work conducted by Anatel's GT-Ciber, as well as the initiatives of the Security Incident Response Groups (CSIRTs) and the good practices and security standards developed by the Internet Steering Committee (CGI), there was a very positive perception of the national performance, promoting the country to third place in the ranking of the Americas. Also, the new edition brought, with great clarity, the central importance, post-pandemic, of international collaboration between the various actors in this ecosystem and the mutual trust that must be sought between national states”, says Anna Luiza Berredo, partner in the TMT, Privacy & Data Protection area at Maneira Advogados.

“The improvement in position in the ranking can be understood as the result of a double demand: on the government side, recognizing years of investments beyond what is necessary, and on the side of the private sector itself, where companies are increasingly concerned with the ecosystem through which information travels and which almost always, at some point at least, may involve a public entity”, explains Márcio Chaves, partner in the digital law area at Almeida Advogados.

For Luiza Sato, partner in the data protection area at ASBZ Advogados, "Brazil's position in the global cybersecurity ranking should be celebrated, as it demonstrates that the actions that have been taken to guarantee a safe digital environment in our territory are yielding results. The pandemic ended up accelerating a series of measures, both by the public and private sectors, to strengthen the infrastructure and culture of information security, since many activities had to be migrated to the electronic means and it has become increasingly necessary to prevent and remedy the growing virtual crimes. In addition to increasing the population's awareness regarding cybersecurity, it is necessary to highlight the various regulations issued involving the topic of information security, including the National Information Security Policy and the General Data Protection Law (LGPD), in August the administrative sanctions provided for therein will become applicable, with even greater concern regarding the security of personal data expected.”

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