Online fraud remained the leading category of reported incidents
Ghana recorded 4,938 cybersecurity incidents between January and September 2026, surpassing the 4,604 cases recorded throughout 2025, the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) has disclosed.
An officer of the CSA’s Capacity Building and Awareness Creation Department, Mary Ama Bawa, said the figures highlighted the growing threat of cybercrime, calling for intensified public education and proactive measures to protect individuals and businesses.
Bawa disclosed the figures during a presentation at the Central Regional Coordinating Council (CRCC) as part of the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month regional engagements.
“In a presentation at the Central Regional Coordinating Council (CRCC) as part of this year’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) regional engagements, the authority recorded 4,938 cybersecurity incidents from January to September 2026, compared with 4,604 incidents for the whole of 2025,” she said.
Online fraud remained the leading category of reported incidents, accounting for 48 per cent of cases recorded between January and September 2026, compared with 47 per cent in 2025.
Cyberbullying also increased significantly, rising from nine per cent of reported incidents in 2025 to 19 per cent in the first nine months of 2026. Online blackmail accounted for 20 per cent of reported cases in 2026, up from 17 per cent in the previous year.
The increase in reported incidents was accompanied by a sharp rise in financial losses linked to cybercrime.
Ghana recorded GH¢209.7 million in losses between January and September 2026, compared with GH¢22.5 million for the whole of 2025.
Bawa cautioned that the reported cases might not reflect the full scale of cybercrime in the country because some victims failed to report incidents to the appropriate authorities.
She identified artificial intelligence-generated deepfake scams, brand impersonation, organised scam centres, automated fraud schemes and child-related online safety violations as emerging cybersecurity threats.
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Bawa also raised concerns about the safety of children on digital platforms, identifying cyberbullying, online grooming and sexual extortion as some of the threats confronting young Internet users.
She said some children were deceived into believing they were chatting with their peers when they were actually interacting with adults seeking to exploit them.
The CSA, she disclosed, was collaborating with social media platforms, including Meta, TikTok and Instagram, to identify and remove harmful online content, particularly material involving the sexual exploitation of children.
“Under the arrangement, the CSA could request the platforms to remove nude images and other exploitative content once the material was identified or reported,” she indicated.
Bawa added that individuals who posted or shared such material could face legal action, as both actions could constitute offences under the law.
The authority was also working with metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to strengthen the cybersecurity capacity of critical information infrastructure institutions, including regional coordinating councils, assemblies and banks.
Meanwhile, the Senior Manager at the CSA’s Child Online Protection Unit, Herald Nelson-Darko, described online child sexual exploitation and abuse as one of the fastest-growing forms of violence against children.
He cited data attributed to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which indicated that 21,901 sexual images involving children and young people had been accessed and uploaded in Ghana.
Nelson-Darko urged parents to discuss Internet use regularly with their children and educate them on how to identify and report suspicious online interactions.
He said parents did not need advanced technological knowledge to protect their children, stressing that regular communication and an active interest in their online experiences could help keep them safe.
MRA/VPO
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