Policy Brief [ 5 / 2018 ] Cyber Security Capacity Building in Myanmar Lars Gjesvik and Niels Nagelhus Schia Summary Digitalization is exposing developing countries to a growing number of risks, as well as opportunities associated with connecting to the Internet. Myanmar stands out as a critical case of both the pitfalls and the benefits Internet connection can bring. Amidst a political transition from military rule to a functioning democracy Myanmar is adding ICT to key areas like banking and e-government. Having been one of the least connected countries in the world only five years ago the country is now connecting to the Internet at an unprecedented pace, with little or no institutions in place to ensure the transition goes smoothly. Using the framework of Cyber Security Capacity Building (CCB) we examine the risks and potential benefits of Myanmar’s embracement of digital technologies. Introduction Digitalization is creating both opportunities and threats globally, that have the potential to both foster and hinder the development of states. The rapid expansion of internet connectivity is connecting ever more people to an international world of business, discourse, and entertainment, but also crime, subterfuge, and discord. Thus, a crucial aspect for development in the years to come will be the harnessing of the benefits, as well as mitigating the downsides that inherently follow in the wake of internet access. To harness the benefits of digitalization and mitigate the threats, assisting developing countries in building their ability to respond to and prevent harmful online activity will grow in importance in the coming years. This idea of Cyber Security Capacity Building (CCB) has been proposed as a framework for assessing and nurturing these abilities. In this paper, we will use the framework proposed by Klimburg and Zylberberg (2016), taking a broad approach to cyber security that considers the wider economical and societal impacts of digitization.1 The rationale for this concept is an idea that cyber security impacts states and donors through three underlying mechanisms. In reverse order, they are 1) the ability of digital technologies to promote freedom, by creating spaces for expression of thought and debates that are free from governmental constraints. 2) By using CCB to strengthen the international cyber security architecture. As the Internet is an online arena the security is only as strong as the weakest link, improving developing states will therefore improve the structure globally. And finally, 3) the increasing importance of digitalization and ICT in fostering economic and societal development, and the need for Cyber Security to protect these benefits.2 Benefits of digitalizing: in developing countries and in Myanmar While there is no consensus regarding how large the potential benefits of digitalizing are for developing nations, some metrics have been developed to identify a connection between growth in Internet connection and growth in GDP. The most frequently cited number comes from the ITU which states that a 10% increase in Broadband coverage correlates with a 1.38% increase in GDP.3 The speed with which ICT is spreading compared with traditional infrastructure is a bonus to the potential benefits.4 Another method of measuring potential impact is to move beyond simply economic numbers and look at how ICT relate to development in a larger setting. One such setting is to look at how ICT impact on key benchmark goals for development, such as the UN sustainable development goals6.5 A 2016 report from the Global E-Sustainability Initiative (GeSi) is markedly bullish about the potential for ICT’s to push developed countries further along. Among the drastic transformative effects that are hypothesized are reductions of yearly traffic fatalities by 720.000 globally, of improving healthcare for 1.2 billion people and potential carbon emission reductions by close to 20%. The report also highlights the possibilities ICT offers in terms of education, fostering economic growth, and building smart 1