Cyber Security awareness month in Perspective
As part of government's initiative to maintain the security of Ghana’s critical infrastructure, internet services and the entire digital ecosystem, Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Monday October 1, 2018, launched the National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), to respond to the increasing spate of cyber-crimes and cybersecurity breaches which could potentially undermine the gains from Ghana’s digitalization agenda.
Following the launch, the Ministry of Communications came up with a week-long programme which started from Monday, October 22 - Friday 26, 2018, at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC).
Formal opening
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said plans were far advanced to ratify the convention on cybercrimes adopted by some member countries of the United Nations including Ghana.
Being the third African country to sign on since its adoption, the law after ratification will guide the country to develop strategies to fight cyber-attacks.
It will also help the country to set up a cyber security academy as well as a National Cyber Security Authority to oversee the operations of all agencies in the digital value chain.
As a government, we have signed both the Malabo and Budapest Convention which sets the tone for Ghana to implement initiatives on
I'm happy to announce that when parliament resumes, one of the first sets of laws to ratify is the Budapest Convention," The President said.
Cybercrime loss
He noted
The 2017 estimates put the loss at US$ 69 million.
Estimates further showed that, as at August 2018, Ghana had lost US$97 million due to Cybercrime. This is an indication of increasing cybercrime incidence.
However, most of these cybercrime cases were often not reported and the country does not have an active setup to calculate such losses.
Mobile money
Touching on the use of mobile money, Ghana's Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, said that, transactions worth about GHS79 billion was carried out in 2016, which grew to nearly 156 billion in 2017, representing a significant growth of almost double.
However, he said, the current total registered mobile money accounts across the three major Telcos had outstripped the country’s total population.
The latest data from Bank of Ghana’s payment system showed that the registered number of mobile money accounts increased to 29.99 million in June 2018 from 21.36 million recorded in June 2017, representing an increase of 40.40
To this end, industry estimates showed that 50
Cybersecurity culture
The National Cyber Security Advisor, Albert Antwi-Boasiako, on his part advised businesses to inculcate the culture of
He noted
Analysis by industry experts based on security audit and forensic investigations identified
“We need to scale up our efforts to protect our Critical National Information Infrastructure, as well as addressing the existing gaps in our cybercrime and
He further stated
The 2017 Ghana country report revealed
The report said, 70% of the children who reported that they had seen sexual images online, 6 in 10 of them reported that it happened on social networking sites.
However, 36% of them reported to had felt uncomfortable, 27% felt embarrassed or shy, while 26% felt neither happy nor upset.
This was contained in a study conducted by UNICEF in collaboration with the government of Ghana through the Ministry of Communications.
Launching the report, the Minister for Communications, Hon. Ursula
Anne-Claire Dufay, UNICEF Representative in Ghana, also said, “UNICEF is committed to
“Similarly, UNICEF is keen to prevent and reduce the risks associated with the use if the internet while enabling more children and young people to reap the benefits of a secure and safe online space,”
Judiciary and cybercrime
The National Cyber Security Centre through the Ministry of Communications also organised
Opening the ceremony, the Minister for Communications, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, stressed on the need to cooperate with international partners in tackling cybercrime; reiterating the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s commitment to the ratification of the Budapest Convention to discuss the domestic legal issues involving cybercrime and the operationalization of the Budapest Convention in the context of Ghana’s domestic legislation.
“Ghana’s accession to the Budapest Convention is borne out of a particular judicial imperative-the need to be able to facilitate
On his part at the opening, Supreme Court Judge, Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, in his remarks said Ghana has chosen to join the rest of the majority of people all over the world. Saying, "
Emphasising that, any investigative body which is investigating cybercrime, has its eye on what will happen when a culprit is found and arrested and taken to court.
This he said was
So that is why I think it is very critical and thoughtful for the organizers of this section to have interaction with Judges, in order to get their perspectives and also to share with them the latest trends in cybersecurity and cybercrime,
And it's the Supreme Court which defines
Because, then, we will all be on the same page as far as cybercrime is concerned and as far as enforcement of the regulations that will come," Justice Pwamang said.
Prominent among the Judges were; Justice Charles Edward Ekow Baiden, Justice of Criminal Court 2, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie - Supreme Court, Justice Vida Akoto Bamfo - Supreme Court, Justice Julius Ansah - Supreme Court and to name a few.
Laboratory inaugurated
The Minister for Communications Hon. Ursula
She said “Our
According to the Minister, Ghana had experienced a growing cyber threat landscape and the country
Criminal justice sector
According to the Director of the Cyber Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID),
Speaking in a presentation dubbed, ‘Security Agencies Response to Cyber Crimes’, as part of the 2018 National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra on Thursday, 25th October, 2018, he said, this was as a result of victim’s refusal to cooperate with the police, in the name of protecting themselves from public ridicule.
He also attributed the problem to inaccurate SIM registration and the lack of mechanisms meant to validate the large proportion of cards given them.
He
A Deputy Minister for Communication in charge of
He cited the introduction of national digital property addressing system, the national identification system, e-justice system, re-emigration and other digitalization projects. “These are the foundation of the smart economy we are working to create as a government”.
He added The workshop, he indicated was an important component of national efforts in addressing cybersecurity issues especially those involving the critical national information infrastructures (CNIs).” I have been briefed that this course is being run in three different sessions for critical stakeholders including the government sector, telecommunication sector, banking sector,
Hon. Odotei was confident that participant will gain
He requested MITRE Corporation through the SGI programme to support the implementation of Ghana’s national cybersecurity awareness programme.
Panel discussion
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Idrissu, Member of Parliament for Tamale South constituency and a former Minister for Communications under the Atta-Mills administration, has called for a collaborative effort in fighting cybercrime.
He emphasised
Stressing that, over the years, the country has situated its communications ministry at the world level.
The immediate past Minister for Communications under the Mahama Administration, Edward Omane Boamah, also underpinned the diversity and dynamic nature of information technology and the need for the country to invest in its
According to him, there is the need to invest more in research and in the country’s communications sector. Explaining the need to localize the needs of Ghanaians in order for it to be better addressed.
The Minister for Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful (MP), on her