Cyber Security Week launched to create awareness on cybercrime

The Ministry of Communications on Thursday launched the National Cyber Security Week to scale-up public awareness on cybercrime and sensitise the populace on the country’s preparedness to deal with the phenomenon.

The Week-long programme would commence from October 23 to October 27, 2017, under the patronage of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Mr Vincent Odotei-Sowah, a Deputy Minister of Communications, at a media briefing in Accra to explain the activities lined-up for the Week, said the celebration would offer an opportunity to share information and engage key stakeholders on how to ensure effective and robust cyber security ecosystem in the country.

It is under the theme: “Securing Ghana’s Digital Journey,” which would create a platform for cybersecurity vendors and service providers to showcase their services to the public at the Accra International Conference Centre and the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence.

Mr Odotei-Sowah said the event would afford stakeholders the opportunity to discuss and delve into pertinent topics such as Cyber Security Governance, Child Online Protection, Cyber Hygiene and Awareness, Cyber Security Solutions and capacity-building workshops on the topics.

Some key stakeholders that are expected to participate in the celebration include the Ministry of Communications, the National Security Secretariat, the Ministry of National Security, the African Union Commission and the National Communications Authority.

The rest are the ECOWAS Secretariat, the United Nations Development Programme, the Council of Europe (GLACY+Project), the United States Government (Security Governance Initiative), the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Data Protection Commission, ISACA Ghana and J Initiative and Innovare.

Mr Albert Antwi-Boasiko, the National Cyber Security Advisor, on his part, said government was on course to safeguarding the cybersecurity of the nation by putting in place the necessary functional governance structures, in collaboration with key partners like the National Communication Authority, the Chamber of Telecommunications and the Data Protection Commission.

He said fifty percent of cybersecurity issues started from the individual level and, therefore, advised persons using various Information and Communication Technology (ICT) gadgets to avoid releasing personal or private information onto social media and other online portals.

At the 10th United Nations (UN) Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders, in a workshop devoted to the issues of crimes related to computer networks, cybercrime was broken into two categories and defined as any illegal behaviour directed by means of electronic operations that targets the security of computer systems and the data processed by them.

Cybercrime includes cyber-related fraud, popularly called in the local parlance “Sakawa,” mobile money transfer fraud, child pornography, election rigging and violation of computer network security, industrial espionage and identification theft.

Some existing legislations that regulate cybercrime in Ghana include the Electronic Crimes Act, 2008 (Act 775), the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 771) and the Data Protection Act, 2012, Act (843).