Leaders at the recent 2025 Global Cybersecurity Forum in Riyadh pledged to close the cybersecurity talent gap by to scaling training, policy support, simulation labs, and cross-border collaboration to strengthen critical digital defenses.
The forum brought together a network of leaders, experts, and institutions with a clear objective: to define the frameworks, partnerships, and metrics that will govern digital security in an era where the risks extend far beyond data breaches (Gulf News, 2025). Over two days, Saudi Arabia advanced two interconnected agendas: closing the cybersecurity skills gap and establishing child safety as a fundamental component of the web's architecture.
Through a Global Initiative for Capacity Building, in partnership with the UN, the leaders spun out a plan that includes formal benchmarks and reporting mechanisms to track how fast and how inclusively nations are building cyber defenses relative to their exposure. We already know that exposure is not evenly distributed. Lower-income countries, many of which are experiencing rapid digital transformation without corresponding security infrastructure, remain the most vulnerable.
The forum did not shy away from this imbalance. It recognized that cybersecurity is now a global public good—and the absence of capacity in one jurisdiction can create cascading risks for others. The Initiative places specific emphasis on elevating capacity in the Global South, including through shared curricula, open-access tools, and multilateral financing.
A foundational report, developed in collaboration with Duke University and released in conjunction with the forum, flagged deep systemic obstacles: 64% of respondents view women as under-represented in cybersecurity while more than half lack awareness of cybersecurity careers (GC Forum, 2025). Riyadh responded by amplifying its “Empowering Women in Cyber Leadership” program, drawing women from 39 countries, and formalizing cooperation with UN Women. The initiative focuses on equipping mid-career women with both technical expertise and leadership skills to influence cybersecurity policy and practice in their home countries.
Perhaps the most consequential step took the form of the Child Protection in Cyberspace Index, developed with the DQ Institute and international partners. This tool measures how well governments, tech firms, and infrastructure providers safeguard children in online spaces—across education, regulation, platform design, and enforcement. Riyadh explicitly positioned child safety not as a moral add-on, but as a metric that defines legitimacy in cyber policy. If systems don’t protect children, they are incomplete systems.
To support a more strategic and quantifiable approach to cyber governance, Riyadh also announced the creation of the Centre for Cyber Economics (CCE), launched in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The CCE aims to establish frameworks that quantify trust, risk, and resilience as economic indicators—not indirect externalities. This reframing of cybersecurity from a sunk cost to an economic enabler opens the door for integration into national budgets, regulatory policies, and global trade standards.
The Riyadh forum offered a policy architecture in which cyber capacity, social safeguards, and economic planning operate within the same system. Each track reinforces the other. Inclusion is essential for scaling human capital. Safety standards underpin trust. Economic modeling informs investment and policy continuity.