An Integrated FRANCOM–FRADAR Framework for Assessing Cybersecurity Preparedness in D8 Countries

Abstract

The accelerating pace of digital transformation has fundamentally altered national economic, institutional, and technological ecosystems, while simultaneously amplifying the scope and sophistication of cybersecurity risks. In many developing economies, the rapid expansion of digital services has not been matched by proportional improvements in cybersecurity infrastructure, resulting in structural vulnerabilities and heightened exposure to cyber threats. These conditions underscore the necessity of systematically assessing national cybersecurity preparedness and identifying priority areas for policy intervention. This study evaluates the cybersecurity preparedness performance of the D8 (Developing-8) countries with the objective of identifying relative strengths, weaknesses, and strategic gaps. To address the inherent uncertainty and multidimensionality of cybersecurity assessment, an integrated fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) framework is proposed. Criterion weights are determined using the FRANCOM (Fuzzy RANking COMparison) method, while country performance rankings are obtained via the FRADAR (Fuzzy RAnking based on Distances and Range) approach. The evaluation framework incorporates a comprehensive set of criteria, including national cybersecurity policies and strategies, technical and institutional capacity, cyber-threat resilience and risk management capability, human capital and training, public awareness and societal participation, economic and technological investment, legal and regulatory structures, and international cooperation mechanisms. The empirical findings indicate that Türkiye demonstrates the highest level of cybersecurity preparedness among the D8 countries, whereas Pakistan exhibits the weakest performance. The robustness and internal consistency of the results are confirmed through three complementary validation analyses. Overall, the study demonstrates that the integrated application of FRANCOM and FRADAR offers a reliable, flexible, and policy-relevant decision support framework for assessing national cybersecurity preparedness in developing country contexts.