Ghana is to serve as a member of the Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT).
The GIFCT was established in July 2017 by a group of companies dedicated to disrupting terrorists’ abuse and misuse of member platform through knowledge-sharing, technical collaboration and sponsored research.
Composed of government representatives, technical experts, civil society leaders, advocacy groups, human rights specialists and researchers, the IAC is a consultative body dedicated to maximising the effectiveness of the GIFCT and establishing engagements among government, civil society, and industry.
The original Forum was led by a rotating chair drawn from the four founding companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube.
A statement issued in Accra yesterday, said, Ghana’s nomination is due to its political commitment and human right-centric approach to developing its cybersecurity as well as its active engagement at the regional and international level to promote responsible use of the internet.
Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, the current head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), will represent Ghana on the Committee.
Ghana would serve on the IAC alongside Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (USA).
Meanwhile, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has asked Ghana to lead cyber-security efforts in the sub-region due to the country’s work to improve cybersecurity by reviewing the legal and regulatory framework, public education and sensitisation, establishing a network of Computer Emergency Response Teams in various sectors, and capacity building for all actors in this ecosystem.
Through the NCSC, the statement said Ghana improved its international cooperation efforts in the fight against cybercrime by acceding to the Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention and ratified the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, known as the Malabo Convention in 2018.
Additionally, the country chaired the Freedom Online Coalition, an inter-governmental body which promotes digital rights and collaborated with the German Government to draft a Digital Inclusion Statement which has been adopted by all FOC members.
The Ministry of Communications has also been actively involved in the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG), whose activities were aimed at improving international response to cybercrimes.
BY TIMES REPORTER
