This year’s national cyber security awareness month has been launched in Accra with a call on Ghanaians to embrace digital practices that mitigate against cyber threats and risks.
Being marked under the theme “Promoting a culture of digital safety,” the event would involve stakeholder engagements on cybersecurity service licensing and accreditation regulatory regimes, joint initiatives with cybersecurity committee institutions, private sector and international partners, public sensitisation on traditional and social media platforms, among others.
It will focus on highlighting the importance of cultivating a collective mindset and behaviour that promotes responsible online practices, cybersecurity awareness and the protection of personal information.
The month long event is expected to increase public awareness and understanding of digital safety issues, resulting in improved risk alerts and informed decision-making by Ghanaians.
Launching it yesterday, Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, in a statement read on her behalf by her deputy, Ama Pomaa Boateng, said the event was designed to ensure Ghana reflected upon the growth of cybersecurity, which was critical to ensuring the country’s resilience and security in today’s digital age which present both increased opportunities and challenges.
She said the event was expected to help create synergy between public and private sector stakeholder groups to intensify awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and the inherent risks associated with it.
The knowledge shared through the awareness programmes, she noted, would help the public, businesses, and government to appreciate the ongoing work of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) including the need to protect the country’s Critical Information Infrastructure (CII).
Already, the CSA, she said, had taken several key measures including the establishment of a Directive for the Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure, which highlights the baseline cybersecurity requirements, incident response and reporting mechanisms, as well as audit and compliance procedures for all designated CII owners.
In addition, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful stated that, Ghana was working to strengthen its legal and policy regime to address Online Child Sexual Exploitation and abuse.
She noted that, on Child Online Protection, the CSA had intensified its education of cybersecurity best practices among children over the years with more than 136,000 children sensitised across the country’s 16 regions.
Director-General of CSA, Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, said now more than ever, cybersecurity had become a priority for nations across the globe, due to the fast-evolving nature of cybercrime and the shift of criminals from traditional to more complex digital crimes.
He noted that currently cybercrime including hacking, identity theft, phishing, malware attacks required rapt attention and specific investments to curb the threats.
The significance of cybersecurity awareness, he said, had never been more apparent in the modern era as it goes a long way in shoring up the country’s security and promotes education on the existing threats to encourage more proactive and responsive measures.
In response to rising cybersecurity threats, the CSA, he noted, was currently implementing several regulatory activities including the Licensing of Cybersecurity Service Providers and Accreditation of Cybersecurity Establishments, and Cybersecurity Professionals.
The Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, called for collaborative efforts between all the security agencies, private sector and individuals to deal with the threats of cyber attacks.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
