The United Kingdom ranks 10
th in the 2021
Network Readiness Index (NRI), 9
th in the 2021
Digital Skills Gap Index and 14
th in the 2021
IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking. The British digital sector contributes roughly £149 billion each year to the economy and employs more than 1.5 million people [
x]. The country also remains Europe’s unofficial ‘start-up capital’, with British tech startups
attracting more than $15 billion in venture capital investment in the midst of a global pandemic. Nevertheless, new and emerging challenges to peace and security in cyberspace represent pressing concerns for the UK [
x]. Over the course of 2021, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre dealt with 777 significant incidents, with around 20% of supported organisations being linked to the health sector and Covid vaccines [
x]. In the face of ever-increasing cyber vulnerabilities, the UK government has recently adopted a
strategy of ‘levelling up’ protection for British cyberspace. This has brought international collaboration on cyber issues to the forefront of Britain’s diplomatic agenda. British diplomacy has traditionally championed the rules-based international system both online and offline,
placing great emphasis on human rights, democratic values and free trade.
Costa Rica has established itself as a leading country in technological adoption, in combination with a complete commitment to sustainability and the protection of the environment.
Information and communications technology services accounted for 49% of the country’s exports (twice the average of OECD countries), placing the Central American country at the forefront of the digital economy.
An EU candidate country since 2014, Albania has been eagerly embracing its digital revolution with the government ushering in an array of cyber and digital policy initiatives. In recent years, Albania has worked on adapting its legal framework to comply with the EU’s
acquis communautaire and further approach the Digital Single Market. The Albanian policy framework ranks 1
st across the Western Balkans region in fostering the inclusivity and competitiveness of digital society [
x], while the country currently ranks 80
th in the Global Security Index [
x]. An OECD report
praised Albania for enhancing intragovernmental cooperation, emphasising the cross-cutting character of ICT in its development strategies, and allocating resources towards the implementation of its digital strategy. Despite the proliferation of such policies, however, the country is currently the 5
th largest source of cybercrime in Europe, suffering at least 1.3 million cyberattacks yearly [
x]. As such, modernising cybercrime legislation and upgrading critical infrastructure protection constitute key priorities for Albanian policymakers.