ModernGhana editors arrested for alleged hacking

National Security sources say three editors working with news website ModernGhana were picked up on Thursday, 27 June 2019 in connection with investigations into reported cybercrime activities.

The journalists were arrested after the website’s office was raided by national security operatives.

According to ModernGhana’s Editor-in-Chief William Beeko, the raid followed the site’s publication of a story about National Security Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah and an MP of the governing New Patriotic Party, Mr Alex Afenyo-Markin.

During the raid, laptops of ModernGhana’s were taken away by the security operatives.

The whereabouts of the three journalists remain unknown.

Sources within the office of national security familiar with the raid have, however, said the arrest followed a tipoff that a group has been engaged in some cybercrime activities targeted at other corporate organisations.

According to the sources, initial investigations proved that the attacks were targeted at other media houses and that the suspects were affiliated to ModernGhana.

The modus operandi, according to the sources, has been to hack into the emails and servers of popular competing websites and newsrooms and intercept emails and stories being filed by the competitor correspondents for their own use.

Other hacks, according to the sources, include the hacking of financial account information of competitors, especially between correspondents, sources and stringers.