Ghana lost 50 million dollars to cyber-attack in 2016

Mr Dele Aden, the Managing Director of Delta3 International, an Informational Security Advisory Company, says Ghana lost a total of 50 million dollars to cyber-attack in 2016.

He said Africa, as a whole, lost two billion dollars to cyber-attack the same year.

Mr Aden was speaking to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the Cyber Security Awareness Workshop in Accra.

He said the workshop was to enable participants to learn how to safely protect themselves and their organisations from security risks and possible cyber-attacks.

Mr Aden said they would also be able to identify many of the common risks associated with using computers, mobile devices and the internet.

“To successfully protect information assets, employees at every level - from the top down - need a basic understanding of the current threat landscape, as well as their respective responsibilities in protecting their organisations’ information assets,” he added.

He said though employees were a company's greatest asset, they could also be its greatest security risk.

Mr Aden said Ghanaian businesses were still grappling with the issues of cyber security and following the increases in cyber-crimes and cyber security breach, Delta3 International decided to organise the series workshops to create awareness.

He explained that there were several current attacks and hacks, so the workshop would equip participants with the necessary knowledge on how best to enhance cyber security and protect corporate data within their various organisations.

Mr Aden, therefore, called on business owners and individuals to seek knowledge and engage experts on issues concerning cyber security and empower their staff.

He urged the public to be careful in downloading software onto their mobile phones as they might be exposing information to hackers.

Participants were taken through topics like; Introduction to Data and Information Security, Cyber Security Fundamentals, Cyber Security Breaches, Types of Cyber Attacks, Mobile Protection, Social Network Security, Email Security and Critical Cyber Threats.