Cybersecurity Strategies in the Visegrád Countries A Cross-Country Analysis

Abstract

The European Union is one of the most developed regions with regard to its cyber policy. While 14 out of the top 15 countries based on the National Cybersecurity Index are European countries, the Central European region is in a semi-peripheral position being less developed in cybersecurity policy. The paper aims to evaluate four of these countries – namely the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – often referred to as “Visegrád” countries, based on their cybersecurity policy. The region is geopolitically exposed to cyberattacks, however, only Poland follows a military approach in cyber policy development. The methodology is based on a mixed approach, consisting of the quantitative analysis of the countries based on international databases and a qualitative strategy analysis. The results indicate that the Czech Republic leads among the countries of the region. Although the countries of the region concentrate on the fight against cybercrime and personal data protection, other indicators such as the contribution to global cybersecurity policy allow further development.

The European Union is one of the most developed regions with regard to its cyber policy. While 14 out of the top 15 countries based on the National Cybersecurity Index are European countries, the Central European region is in a semi-peripheral position being less developed in cybersecurity policy. The paper aims to evaluate four of these countries – namely the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – often referred to as “Visegrád” countries, based on their cybersecurity policy. The region is geopolitically exposed to cyberattacks, however, only Poland follows a military approach in cyber policy development. The methodology is based on a mixed approach, consisting of the quantitative analysis of the countries based on international databases and a qualitative strategy analysis. The results indicate that the Czech Republic leads among the countries of the region. Although the countries of the region concentrate on the fight against cybercrime and personal data protection, other indicators such as the contribution to global cybersecurity policy allow further development.