CyberPeace Index, a global peace-centric index designed with users trust & safety at the centre announced at the UN Internet Governance Forum 2025 in Norway
- Sub Editor
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
Focuses on how nations safeguard their citizens online, unlike existing frameworks that emphasise cyber capabilities, infrastructure, and geopolitical influence
Cybercrime in Mumbai has seen a sharp and sustained rise over recent years, with official NCRB data showing a significant increase in cases - from 2,883 in 2021 to 4,724 in 2022. The majority of these cases involve online financial fraud, including investment scams, job frauds, fake websites, and credit/debit card misuse, with financial fraud alone accounting for 2,349 cases in 2024. As cyber threats evolve in scale and complexity, ranging from ransomware and data breaches to the rampant spread of misinformation and deepfakes, the global community has increasingly relied on indices to assess nations’ digital readiness. However, most global indices focus on cyber power, readiness assessment and terror impacts.
Addressing these critical gaps, CyberPeace Foundation announced the CyberPeace Index at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2025 in Oslo, Norway. This new global framework will redefine how we evaluate cyber ecosystems, shifting the focus from dominance and defence to trust, safety, and digital well-being.
At the core of the Index is a 10-pillar framework that holistically evaluates nations on diverse aspects of cyber peace. These pillars range from cybersecurity readiness, cybercrime response, digital peace diplomacy, and cyber literacy & inclusion, public-private partnerships to responsible AI governance, psychosocial resilience, and user trust & safety. Each pillar reflects how well a country or ecosystem is fostering a safe, inclusive, and trustworthy digital environment.
“The Index is being designed using a broad, multi-stakeholder lens, drawing inspiration from other globally recognised indices but filling critical gaps, particularly the absence of metrics around citizen safety, trust, and ethical use of digital tools” said Vineet Kumar, Founder and Global President of CyberPeace Foundation. “As cyber threats grow more complex, we need to measure peace, not just power. This Index brings citizens back to the centre of the conversation.”
Developed as a multi-dimensional, ethics-led model, the Index will assess nations on their ability to prevent cybercrime, counter misinformation, and protect users from fraud and emerging threats like deepfakes. It will serve as a tool for governments, companies, and civil society to benchmark and improve their cyber governance policies.
CyberPeace Foundation will continue engaging with global experts and stakeholders to refine the Index, with a pilot version expected later this year. The long-term vision is to establish it as an annual benchmark that informs policies and empowers digital citizens across the world.
CyberPeace Index and Its Relevance for India
1. Why does India need the CyberPeace Index?
India is the world’s largest democracy and one of the most digitally connected nations, with over 850 million internet users. Yet, this digital expansion brings with it complex challenges - rising cyberattacks, misinformation, deepfakes, and threats to online safety, especially for women, children, and marginalised groups.
Current indices focus on cyber power and infrastructure, but do not reflect the lived experiences of Indian citizens, especially women, children, rural users, or linguistic minorities. The CyberPeace Index provides India a citizen-centric, trust-driven metric to measure and improve our cyber health, not just in terms of infrastructure, but in how secure, resilient, ethical, inclusive, peaceful our cyberspace truly is.
2. Why do global indices prioritise power over peace — and why is that a problem for India?
Most global indices (e.g., Nation Cyber Power Index) prioritise:
Offensive cyber capability
Military-grade readiness
Geopolitical influence
This narrative excludes the realities of countries like India, where the scale of digital participation is massive.
India’s digital strategy is grounded in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), data for development, and inclusive access. We need an index that recognises not just cyber strength, but ethical leadership, cooperation, and peacebuilding - a value India brings consistently to the global stage.
3. Global indices don’t account for citizens’ trust and safety. How will this index address that for India?
The CyberPeace Index is built with digital citizens in mind. In India, this means:
Measuring how safe users feel online
Evaluating redressal systems for cybercrime, scams, child exploitation, and harassment
Tracking access to digital grievance platforms in regional languages
Scoring government and platforms on their trust & safety protocols
It aims to use real-time data, citizen surveys, and platform disclosures to assess where India stands, and where improvements are urgently needed.
4. What does a citizen-first, ethics-led, peace-focused model mean for India?
For India, this model aligns with our constitutional values and Digital India vision. It means:
Citizen-first: Focus on access, protection, and empowerment, not surveillance or suppression
Ethics-led: Technologies should respect rights, dignity, and diversity
Peace-focused: India believes in resolving cyber conflict through dialogue, not digital escalation
Example: Cybersecurity Initiatives in India are grassroots models focused on awareness, safety, and ethical digital behaviour. They demonstrate that cybersecurity isn’t just about firewalls - it’s about people.
5. What will the pilot launch in 5 countries, including India, entail?
The pilot phase will:
Test the scoring model across 5 diverse countries
Engage Indian stakeholders—policymakers, cybersecurity agencies, academia, civil society
Launch an open dashboard prototype, using Indian threat data, platform behaviour, and policy inputs
Host regional workshops and community consultations to validate Country’s CyberPeace profile
This ensures the final CyberPeace Index reflects realities and becomes a model for other Global South nations.
6. At IGF 2025, what unique perspectives did India bring to the cybersecurity conversation?
India emphasised:
The right to a safe and inclusive internet for all users
Leadership in AI governance & AI Safety, DPI, and cybersecurity skilling. India also hosted pre-events for the upcoming AI Impact Summit to be held in Feb 2026
Insights from various initiatives
The importance of the Global Digital South voice in norm setting
7. Can the index help mitigate cyber threats in India - through policy, early warning, or digital resilience?
Yes, the index can help mitigate cyber threats in India. The CyberPeace Index offers:
Early warning through real-time cyber threat monitoring and regional trend dashboards
A policy benchmarking tool to guide ministries, agencies, and state governments
A platform accountability scorecard that will track safety mechanisms, grievance systems, and abuse prevention
A way to engage citizens, law enforcement, educators, and civil society to build cyber resilience bottom-up
By linking data, policy, and people, the CPI becomes not just a measure, but a movement for a safer, resilient and more peaceful internet.
About CyberPeace
CyberPeace is the world's first non-profit civil society organisation and think tank of cyber and policy experts with the vision of pioneering CyberPeace initiatives to build collective resilience against cybercrimes & global threats of cyber warfare. As a pioneer in CyberPeace advocacy, CPF is on a mission to promote “Technology for Good” beyond borders. CyberPeace is involved in Policy Advocacy, Research, and Training related to all aspects of CyberPeace and Cybersecurity. Key areas of CyberPeace work are Technology Governance, Policy Review and Advocacy, Capacity and Capability creation, and building through partnerships with various government organisations, academic institutions, and civil society entities.
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