Government set to operationalize Cybersecurity Act - Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

In protecting Ghanaians and ICT infrastructure systems in the country, the Minister for Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu said her outfit is in the process of operationalizing the Cybersecurity Act 2020, Act 1038.

The Act, which was passed last year, establishes the Cyber Security Authority, which protects the critical information infrastructure of the country, regulates cybersecurity activities, provides for the protection of children on the internet, and develops Ghana’s cybersecurity ecosystem.

Speaking at the second edition of the Mobile Technology for Development Conference 2021, the Minister said, “the increased adoption of technology in the various sectors of our economy is excellent but they also come with risks such as financial fraud data breaches, identity theft, and cybercrimes.”

These cybersecurity incidents have affected critical sectors of the country including energy, telecommunications, banking and finance, and have caused disruptions in the delivery of essential services. If unchecked, it can undermine the security and economy of the country.

She added that cybersecurity is very critical to the economic development of the country and essential to the protection of the rights of individuals within the national digital ecosystem.

The Act is targeted at positioning Ghana to prevent, manage and respond to cybersecurity incidents in view of the digital transformation agenda.

The law also empowers security and law enforcement agencies to combat cybercrime and makes provision for dedicated sources of funding for the Cyber Security Authority and its activities.

Last year, there were reports of mobile money (MoMo) fraudsters taking their perverse activities a notch higher after it came to light that they now target MoMo wallets that have been synchronized with bank accounts.

In 2019, the banking industry of the Bank of Ghana reported a total number of 2,295 fraud cases as compared to 2,175 fraud cases reported in 2018.

The numbers have reduced marginally in recent times due to the various forms of advanced technologies being adopted by financial institutions that has made the banking sector more susceptible to various risks such as phishing, identity theft, card skimming, vishing, email fraud and more sophisticated types of cyber-crime.