We must be battle-ready for cyber crimes – Bawumia

Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on Monday, 1 October 2018, launched a month-long cybersecurity awareness programme aimed at enhancing the cybersecurity mindset of Ghanaians.

The Ministry of Communication set aside October to create awareness on emerging cybersecurity threats and ways to mitigate them.

Experts say Ghana's cybersecurity awareness level is currently at the formative stage with no material cybersecurity threat.

Launching the campaign in Accra on the theme: "A safer digital Ghana", Dr Bawumia underscored the importance of the campaign, as he said the perception of insecurity has a great tendency to cripple businesses.

“I’m aware that, for example, the World Bank has supported the ministry to conduct a cybersecurity capacity review, which examines the state of Ghana’s cybersecurity readiness, which the advisor presented earlier today. This study is expected to help government prioritise its investment in cyber security.

“Awareness creation and capacity-building should be an important feature of the activities going forward. To this end, I wish to encourage strong links between the universities and industry to ensure our young cyber security experts are battle-ready.

“A safer digital Ghana campaign has been developed to respond to the increasing state of cyber crimes and cyber security breaches which would potentially undermine the gains of Ghana’s digitisation agenda.

“The campaign focused on four thematic areas: Children, the public, business and government. This national cybersecurity awareness initiative is expected to enhance cybersecurity in the country.”