Australia scores a tick for cyber attack defences

CANBERRA/WASHINGTON: A study into nations’ cybersecurity has ranked Australia 15th, ahead of Singapore and the US, as among the most prepared for cyber-attacks.

The US dropped from its previous ranking of fifth to 17th, a ranking that should ring alarm bells in the Trump Administration.

Cybersecurity by research organisation Comparitech ranked Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Ireland and Japan among the most secure countries.

Iran had the highest percentage of mobile malware infections and Finland the lowest.

Australia also ranked highly when it came to up-to-date cyber-security legislation, with France topping the list.

China was well down the rankings and was among several countries, including Iran, blamed for sophisticated attacks against the US. 

Some 60 countries were included in the listing, with only six having a worse score than last year.