Cyber Security Awareness

NEWS COMMENTARY ON THE LAUNCH OF NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY AWARENESS MONTH

Technology is continuously evolving. The evolution comes with opportunities and challenges. Society has developed to a stage where technology underpins economic, cultural, social, religious and political activities. Around the globe, online banking has replaced queues in banks, transactions involving huge amounts of money are coordinated with the click of a button. Mobile Money wallets and ATM cards have reduced carrying of physical cash. Buying and selling, accessing education and entertainment are all now easy using the internet. Increasing affordability of ICT devices, decline in data prices, enhanced data connectivity are propelling the digital economy in Ghana. With the help of the internet our daily lives are increasingly organised in spheres we do not see, otherwise known as Cyber space.

Ghana’s cyber space has witnessed important developments recently with the introduction of paperless ports, digital property addressing system, mobile money interoperability systems, e-justice and the ongoing national identification system. Social media is now an integral part of our lives. Even as society derives significant benefits from the cyber space there are increasing threats, attacks and vulnerability of internet users. Some unscrupulous individuals have been defrauding, engaging in identity theft and swindling people on the cyber space. The image of Ghana out there when it comes to internet fraud is not the best. The number of internet fraud cases reported by commercial banks operating in Ghana to the Central Bank increased from 1000 in 2016 to 1,418 in 2017. The Financial Forensics Unit of the Criminal  Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service recently arrested 12 suspects in the biggest ever cybercrime incident in Ghana. The suspects attempted transferring three hundred and twenty six million Ghana Cedis from the vault of the Universal Merchant Bank electronically. Even before the matter was reported to the police, about one million Ghana Cedis had been withdrawn through ATM in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates using internationally accepted credit cards. There are several mobile money scam stories out there.

The development of Ghana’s National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy in 2011 was necessitated by the threats from cybercrime which have the potential to undermine the gains from the country’s digitalization efforts. Recognizing the need to scale up Ghana’s cyber security readiness in view of the escalating cybercrimes and cyber security issues, government directed the Ministry of Communications to work with other agencies and Ghana’s international partners to develop national responses to address cyber security issues. As a recommendation during the stakeholders’ engagement, the Ministry established the National Cyber Security Secretariat with a mandate to coordinate national efforts towards addressing Ghana’s cyber security challenges. The Ministry of Communications organized the National Cyber Security Week event in 2017 to create awareness on cybercrime issues and the need to ensure cyber security among individuals, businesses and government.

The 2018 National Cyber Security Awareness event involves organizing a full month programme reaching out to all citizens in the ten regions of Ghana. Decentralising the awareness programme is critical because some citizens in the regions may be oblivious of the threats inherent in the cyber space. The cyber security awareness programme is also significant because Government intends to launch Ghana’s National Cybercrime and Cyber Security Awareness programme dubbed – A Safer Digital Ghana in order to ensure a sustained approach towards awareness creation and the development of a culture of cyber security among Ghanaians. The month-long event is geared towards creating awareness on cybercrime trends and cyber security issues among children, individuals, businesses and government agencies. It will also be used to share government’s new vision and direction on cyber security and highlight strategies towards achieving the vision. Furthermore, the event will create a platform to facilitate engagements between cyber security solution and service providers and individuals, businesses and government. It is vital for all users of the internet to be security conscious. Let us all play our parts to ensure a safer digital Ghana.

BY: DOMINIC HLORDZI- A JOURNALIST AND MEMBER OF THE PLANNING COMMITTEE OF THE CYBER SECURITY AWARENESS MONTH.