A multi-criteria approach for the calculation of a complex indicator of Cyber Security and Digital Development

There are several indicators at the international level that assess the state of cyber security and digital development for a region, a country or a continent. The most important cyber security and digital development indicators calculated, at the country level, by international bodies are the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), the National Cyber Security Index (NCSI), the ICT Development Index (IDI) and the Network Readiness Index (NRI). Each of the cyber security indicators is closely linked to the digital development indicators. This article proposes a multi-criteria approach to calculate a complex indicator, called SECDIG, a combination of four internationally indicators. Two of these indicators are for cybersecurity (GCI and NCSI) and the other two indicators are for digital development (IDI and NRI). SECDIG encompasses the benefits of the four indicators considered together and will be able to serve decision-makers in making informed decisions. The proposed multi-criteria approach is based on the COmplex PRoportional ASsessment (COPRAS) method, a relatively recent method, that has proven effective in many applications. The multi-criteria method is applied to the calculation of the SECDIG composite indicator for 11 Eastern European countries.