13 Countries That Produce The Best Hackers

Published on February 28, 2023 at 2:58 pm by Usman Kabir in Lists, News

In this article, we will be looking at the 13 countries that produce the best hackers. To skip our detailed analysis of the cybersecurity market, go directly and see 5 Countries that Produce the Best Hackers.

According to a report by Cybersecurity Ventures, the yearly cost of cybercrime to the global economy is predicted to rise from $3 trillion in 2015 to over $10.5 trillion by 2025. This indicates that if cybercrime were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest economy after the United States and China. The ongoing digitization of society, behavioral modifications brought on by the global Covid-19 pandemic, political unrest like the conflict in Ukraine, and the global economic slump are major drivers of this rise.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023, the risk of catastrophic cyberattacks is soaring. 86% of corporate leaders and over 93% of cybersecurity specialists foresee a major, catastrophic cyber disaster over the next two years. The WEF report states that the unpredictable nature of cybercrime is of particular concern. This is a result of technology getting increasingly sophisticated, especially cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence.

Governments and businesses worldwide are constantly on guard against the growing number of cyber-attacks. Businesses are becoming more concerned about the security of their data as they shift their digital assets to cloud platforms. Moreover, the government, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors have all seen a significant expansion of security services, consequently enhancing market trends for cyber security sector.

In 2021, the cyber security industry generated a return on investment (ROI) of over US$ 139 billion, according to an industry analysis report by Zion Market Research. Earnings are expected to reach almost US$ 210 billion in this niche, registering a compound annual growth rate of 10.1%. A Grand View Research analysis estimates that the worldwide cybersecurity market was worth $184.93 billion in 2021. The industry is anticipated to reach a value of $202.72 billion in 2022 and expand at a compound annual growth rate of 12% from 2022 to 2030, reaching a value of $500.70 billion at the conclusion of the predicted period.

The defense and healthcare sectors held the largest market and revenue shares in the worldwide cybersecurity market in 2021, respectively. Regarding market share by region in 2021, North America was in the lead, followed by Europe. The intricacy of sophisticated threats and implementation concerns with the adoption of cyber security solutions, however, are expected to limit the market’s growth. Unauthorized access to computer networks is one of the major threats facing the cyber world today.

With the ever-growing digitalization of everyday aspects of common life, ensuring the security and privacy of data has become a serious challenge. Skilled individuals in information technology, known to the world as hackers, can identify and exploit the loopholes in cybersecurity systems to gain access to networks and devices. Once access is granted, the hacker is able to steal, modify, or corrupt sensitive information, which can then be used to disrupt, damage, or hold the digital systems hostage. More and more systems being digitalized have only expanded the vulnerability of cyberspace to nationwide infrastructures such as power grids and water sources.

Governments all over the world have been using hacking as a mighty tool to gain intelligence for multiple years now. It has been observed that countries with the most advanced technology and digitally connected infrastructure produce the best hackers. China and USA are clear examples of digitally advanced nations which both deploy tools and specialists for intelligence gathering, and for the protection of their national interests. Ease of access to the internet and computer systems also plays a significant role in the development of cyber specialists in a country.

Hackers are generally classified into three main categories: white hat hackers, black hat hackers, and gray hat hackers. Furthermore, based on their ideology and work, hackers are further classified as bounty hunters, script kiddies, state-sponsored hackers, hacktivists, insider threats, cyber-terrorists, etc.

Ethical hackers, also known as white hat hackers, are individuals or teams who use their hacking skills for legal and authorized penetration, testing, and vulnerability assessments, to identify and mitigate potential security threats in organizations’ networks and systems. The demand for ethical hackers has grown significantly in recent years as organizations have become increasingly aware of the potential threats. One of the main reasons for the rise in demand is the growing number of cyber-attacks. Additionally, the increasing complexity of technology and regulatory compliance requirements have also played a role in the rise of demand for ethical hackers.

Black hat hackers are individuals who break into cyber systems and networks with malicious intent. They have digital tools at their command which can be used to release malware and ransomware, which is later used to destroy data, and steal passwords, credit card details, and personal information. Black hat hackers are growing at an exponential rate. The dark web, which is part of the internet deliberately hidden from search engines, is home to criminal enterprises specializing in hacking tools and services. These enterprises, in some cases, act as legitimate business sources and even offer licenses to operate in certain regions and offer customer services as well as warranties.

Gray hat hackers operate between white hat and black hat hacking boundaries. They may not have malicious intent, but they may use their skills to gain unauthorized access to computer systems and networks. They may also disclose vulnerabilities they find to the public or sell them to third parties. Some gray hat hackers may act as vigilantes, identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities to expose security weaknesses in systems or networks and then contacting the owner to help in fixing the problem.

According to a report by KnowledgeHut, over 3.5 million cyber security roles were expected to be filled by 2022 in the world in response to these threats. In the first two months of 2022, there was a significant increase in reported cybercrimes with a total of 212,485 cases, which is higher than the number of cybercrimes reported in the entire year of 2018. The pandemic also contributed to this rise, with the number of reported cybercrimes increasing from 394,499 in 2019, to 1,158,208 in 2020 and 1,402,809 in 2021. Please check out our article on the best cybersecurity stocks to buy to see which companies are likely to benefit from the recent trends.

Our Methodology

For this article, we looked at the International Telecommunications Union’s Global Cybersecurity Index of 2020, a reliable resource that measures the commitment of countries to cybersecurity at a global level. In order to ascertain the countries that produce the best hackers, we only shortlisted countries which ranked in the upper two deciles of the report. We then cross-referenced the resultant list with Belfer Center’s National Cyber Power Index for 2022 and The MIT Technology Review Insights Cyber Defense Index 2022/23. After that, we averaged out the rankings to derive an average score for each country. For example, since United Kingdom ranks 2nd in Global Cybersecurity Index, 4th in the NCPI, and 7th in the CDI, its average score for the purpose of this article is 4.3. After replicating the process for every country, we chose the top 13 countries based on their average score and ranked them from lowest to highest. China features on the list at the 13th place because it was not in the upper two deciles of the Global Cybersecurity Index.

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Countries That Produce The Best Hackers

13. China

ITU GCI Ranking: 33

BCNCPI Ranking: 2

MTRICDI Ranking: 12

Average Score: 15.6

China registered 12.9 million breaches in 2021, a significant improvement over the US (212.4 million), Iran (156.1 million), and India (86.6 million) in terms of digital security.

The size of the Chinese cybersecurity market was $8.64 billion in 2021, up $1.3 billion or 17% from 2020. Cybersecurity market revenue in China will reach $14.05 billion in 2022, with cyber solutions accounting for the largest market sector. The growth of the nation’s cybersecurity market has been accelerated by industry modernization and policy compliance.

12. United Arab Emirates

ITU GCI Ranking: 5

BCNCPI Ranking: 31

MTRICDI Ranking: 21

Average Score: 19

United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been a major target for cybercriminals. The country’s booming economy, tourism industry, extensive use of technology, and expansion of the oil and gas industry are the reasons for this. According to a report released by Acronis, UAE organizations lost over $1.4 million in ransomware in 2022. In addition, the report found that risks from phishing and malicious emails have increased by 60%. It is anticipated that by the end of 2023, the average cost of a data breach will surpass $5 million. The UAE Cyber Security Council announced the adoption of strict cybersecurity guidelines to protect the nation’s digital environment in response to this alarming trend.

11. Lithuania

ITU GCI Ranking: 6

BCNCPI Ranking: 29

MTRICDI Ranking: 21

Average Score: 18.7

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the number of cyber-attacks in Lithuania rose considerably. Compared to the 981 attacks the year before, Lithuania saw 1,020 cyber-attacks in the first quarter of 2022.

Considering Lithuania’s population, the nation experiences 55,000 cyber incidents annually, or about 150 incidences each day. In August 2018, Lithuania formally established a national cybersecurity policy to defend cyberspace against attacks for both the public and private sectors.

10. Malaysia

ITU GCI Ranking: 5

BCNCPI Ranking: 28

MTRICDI Ranking: 21

Average Score: 18

In Malaysia, cybersecurity continues to be a major concern. Many firms are exposed to cyberthreats like malware, phishing, and ransomware because they lack effective cybersecurity protections.

The personal information of 22.5 million people, including their full names, ID numbers, residential addresses, and contact information, were stolen from government systems and sold on the dark web for $10,000 last year.

In order to improve the nation’s digital security environment, the Malaysian Finance Minister suggested allocating $16 million to CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) in the 2023 budget meeting.

9. Estonia

ITU GCI Ranking: 3

BCNCPI Ranking: 25

MTRICDI Ranking: 21

Average Score: 16.3

Currently, Estonia is known as one of the most heavily digitalized societies in the world, particularly in terms of e-identity and public digital infrastructure. Because of its reliance on digital services, it is therefore more exposed to cyber-attacks.

Compared to 55,635 in 2020, 73,826 automated security vulnerability notifications were received in 2021. Denial-of-Service attacks held the top spot with 47 incidents out of the 2,237 incidents that had an impact in 2021, followed closely by data leaks with 43 incidents. Moreover, there were 30 documented ransomware-related incidences. With 775 occurrences reported, up from 711 in 2020, phishing had the largest number of incidents.

8. Singapore

ITU GCI Ranking: 4

BCNCPI Ranking: 17

MTRICDI Ranking: 21

Average Score: 14

Companies in Singapore are struggling to keep up with the rapid evolution of the cybersecurity threat landscape. A report by the cybersecurity firm Sophos revealed that 65% of Singapore organizations were hit by ransomware attacks in 2021, up 25% from the previous year. Organizations in Singapore spent an average of $1.9 million in 2021 to recover from the most recent ransomware attack.

GlobalData projects that Singapore’s total addressable market for IT security will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8% between 2020 and 2025. The country’s IT security sector is expanding as result of the government’s support for building a strong cybersecurity ecosystem. In addition, Singapore established a $37.2 million program in July 2021 for cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) research.

7. Saudi Arabia

ITU GCI Ranking: 2

BCNCPI Ranking: 21

MTRICDI Ranking: 15

Average Score: 12.7

The information and communication technology (ICT) market in Saudi Arabia is the largest in the Middle East, and it is continually expanding. Given its economic and political standing, the country has recently seen a number of cyber-attacks. Over 7 million cyberattacks were reported in the first three months of 2021.

Given that the government has prioritized cyber security as a strategic problem, businesses are investing in new technologies to defend themselves against cyber-attacks.

6. Spain

ITU GCI Ranking: 4

BCNCPI Ranking: 15

MTRICDI Ranking: 14

Average Score: 11

There is a cyber security vulnerability in Spain that puts thousands of businesses in danger. According to recent ObservaCIBER findings, one in six Spanish firms have experienced cybersecurity issues. The country has faced approximately 150,000 cyber-attacks since the Covid-19 outbreak began.

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