Ghana ranks 9th in cybersecurity vulnerability in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ghana is ranked 9th out of 11 countries in Sub Sahara Africa that are vulnerable to cybersecurity, according to the World Bank.

South Africa is ranked as the country in Sub Saharan Africa with the highest cybersecurity vulnerability.

It is followed by Kenya and Nigeria in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Botswana, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Egypt and Tanzania placed 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th respectively.

Uganda, DR Congo and Ethiopia followed Ghana in 10th, 11th and 12th respectively.

In an analysis of Covid-19 Pandemic: Upsides for Accelerating Demand For Digital Services In Africa, ratings agency, Fitch said there is increased technology for health services, but data security remains a risk

As the Covid-19 pandemic spreads, more governments may look to collect and store mobile users’ data to increase the pace of diagnosis. However, the dearth of adequate, secure IT infrastructure means that many countries will be increasingly vulnerable to data theft and potential cybercrimes, it said.

“The spread of the pandemic will also see telecare become an increasing priority for governments in the region. Due to limited and less developed infrastructure in emerging markets, telecare services are not delivered via advanced mobile broadband standards like 4G and 5G, but leverage older communication technologies, such as mobile messaging (SMS), which rely on less complex networks and have a wider reach”, it explained.

For example, in South Africa, the regulator has instructed all of the country’s mobile network operators to send their subscribers two Covid-19-related informative text messages per day.

Further on, the ratings agency said “We expect the uptake of basic mobile services in Africa to largely remain relatively insulated from the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic. However, the economic impacts of the virus may weigh on a number of players’ strategies to deploy advanced mobile services, forcing them to instead focus on the provision of vital network infrastructure and services over the coming quarters.”