The above graph compares the governmental cybersecurity capacity in the countries of the Americas in both 2000 (the horizontal axis) and 2018 (the vertical axis). The 45 degree line represents where no change has taken place between the two years, while dots that appear above the line and in green indicate that a statistically significant improvement has taken place. While a red dot indicates a statistically significant decline in cybersecurity capacity between 2000 and 2018. Note that the United States is the only country in the Americas that has experienced an overall decline in that metric. On the other hand, the United States is still the most capable country in the Western Hemisphere, even if it has in relative terms lost capacity in the last two decades.
The question specifically asked experts: does the government have sufficiently technologically skilled staff and resources to mitigate harm from cyber-security threats? Note that this question is implicitly relative to the time frame in question, as what resources were sufficient in one year may be insufficient as the sorts of potential threats grow more advanced over time. The scale of the ratings is:
0: No. The government does not have the capacity to counter even unsophisticated cyber security threats.
1: Not really. The government has the resources to combat only unsophisticated cyber attacks.
2: Somewhat. The government has the resources to combat moderately sophisticated cyber attacks.
3: Mostly. The government has the resources to combat most sophisticated cyber attacks.
4: Yes. The government has the resources to combat sophisticated cyber attacks, even those launched by highly skilled actors.