Although the process of measuring cyber power is complex and multi-faceted, the US has typically ranked ahead of China, the UK, Iran, North Korea, and Russia in terms of its capabilities and strength in cyberspace. However, a newly released study from the Belfer Center at Harvard University has revealed that China has built up more strength than the US in several key categories: surveillance, cyber defense, and dominance over the commercial cyber sector. The study confirmed that China’s cyber power is second only to or on the same level as the US, sophisticated and well-established.

The study also found that several countries that are not currently considered to be cyber superpowers are increasing their capabilities as well, and may rise to the world stage in the coming years. The framework used in the study consists of 27 indicators that are designed to measure cyber capabilities and 32 separate indicators created to measure countries’ intention to deploy cyber capabilities and powers. The measurements were split into seven categories: nations’ defenses, offensive operations, intelligence collection, surveillance, control of information environment, defining international cyber norms, and efforts to expand domestic cyber sectors.

Read More: Chinese cyber power is neck-and-neck with US, Harvard research finds