South Korea took the third spot among 143 countries in terms of the number of secure Internet servers in 2011, the country's ministry in charge of IT and science said Tuesday.

The country had 2,496 secure Internet servers per million people in 2011, the third-largest after Iceland and the Netherlands, the Ministry of ICT, Science and Future Planning said, citing data compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Secure Internet servers are servers using encryption technology in Internet transactions. Any organizations which handle and store personal information are required to set up such servers.

South Korea has seen its ranking in the penetration of secure Internet servers rise in the past few years on the back of a policy drive to boost infrastructure for information and communication technology (ICT).

The country came in at 22nd in 2008 and 43rd in 2006, according to the ministry.

The ministry said it will help private firms set up more secure Internet servers by providing financial support.

"Secure Internet servers are the basic and primary tool to protect personal information," said an official at the ministry.

"The government will continue its efforts to create safe environment for cyber activities." (Yonhap News)