Cybersecurity risks pose significant challenges to digital transformation, particularly in developing countries. As essential services increasingly rely on digital technologies, the impact of cybersecurity incidents is growing. Developing nations often lack the institutional capacity and technical expertise needed to protect their digital infrastructures effectively.
The World Bank has taken a comprehensive approach to assist these countries in building cyber resilience. Their efforts focus on three main areas: developing national cybersecurity strategies, increasing cybersecurity skills, and establishing incident response capabilities. The organization has been instrumental in providing technical assistance and financial support for these initiatives.
Between 2016 and 2022, the World Bank's Global Cyber Security Capacity Building Program facilitated national cybersecurity maturity assessments in nine countries, including six in the Western Balkans. These assessments helped identify gaps in national cybersecurity ecosystems and prioritize investments and policy reforms.
The World Bank also contributes to thought leadership by creating global knowledge products that highlight best practices for enhancing cyber resilience. Notable publications include "Hacking the Cybersecurity Skills Gap in Developing Countries" and "Ghana: A Case Study on Strengthening Cyber Resilience."
Additionally, the World Bank plays a key role in fostering dialogue among cybersecurity practitioners through workshops, forums, and study tours. For example, it co-organized the Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building (GC3B) in Accra, Ghana.
From 2015 to 2024, the World Bank supported 64 countries worldwide in building cyber resilience foundations. In Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Ghana, their support led to significant improvements in national cybersecurity capabilities.
The World Bank collaborates with entities like the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to address complex challenges such as cloud cybersecurity. It also established the Cybersecurity Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) with partners like Estonia and Israel to accelerate capacity-building activities.
Looking ahead, the World Bank plans to upscale its efforts in low-income countries while expanding support for human capital development within the cybersecurity workforce. It is currently aiding Ukraine's government to enhance digital resilience amid ongoing conflicts.