4. Benefits and uses of cybersecurity strategy

There are various benefits a country may gain when developing a cybersecurity strategy. The primary benefit would be that a country is likely to achieve better cybersecurity outcomes with a strategy than without one. Because the cybersecurity strategy provides measures and plans for addressing threats arising from the use of digital technologies, it serves as a confidence building measure that supports the use of digital technologies to attain economic development. It also provides a framework for international cooperation in addressing global issues regarding cybersecurity. 

Other benefits of a cybersecurity strategy are that it can help:

• Decide how cybersecurity can support  higher level national goals, such as economic growth, defence, education, safety for its citizens etc.
• Prioritise cybersecurity effort and investment.
• Create a roadmap or action plan to get from the current state to the country’s desired cybersecurity readiness and capability.
• Ensure that the national approach to cybersecurity reflects its national values.
• Improve communication and cooperation among the wide number of ministries and agencies involved in cybersecurity.
• Clarify or change the responsibilities of those ministries and agencies.
• Direct that new institutions or agencies be created.
• Set targets for ministries and agencies, with a reporting process so that ministers and officials can monitor progress and identify problems early.
• Improve cooperation between government ministries and key organisations from the outside government in the private sector and civil society needed to implement the NCSS and improve national cybersecurity.
• Encourage support for the national cybersecurity effort by involving companies, civil society and even citizens in deciding the strategy priorities and how its goals are to be achieved.

The categories for using NCSS can be divided into three major areas (Azmi et al.). The first major area is for National Security. Under this, strategies are used primarily as tools to reduce cyber threats to critical national infrastructure by strengthening national resilience for CNI and protecting state secrets. In some instances, it could also serve as a tool to promote economic security and prosperity. Secondly, the strategy could serve a jurisprudential purpose as it may be a requirement of other policy documents or laws. It could also be a mandate of the government agency required by law. Thus the creation of the NCSS meets the requirement as required by law or other policies. Thirdly, it can be used to achieve political needs. Sometimes it becomes imperative as part of the political drive to create NCS. In the modern era of digital diplomacy, NCS could serve as a diplomatic tool for engaging resources for further development and promoting a country’s image.