Security expert advocates regulation to check access to national data

Dr. Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, Head of Research at Kofi Annan Peace Keeping Training Centre has stressed the need for Ghana to regulate the level of access to national data to ensure information security.

He noted that people who had some confidential data on government were most likely to relay it to third parties, which could pose as a threat to national security.

“There is the need to begin a process to ensure that those who have such information about the nation at their disposal are checked,” he stressed.

Dr. Aning made the call at the 15th Annual Public Lecture of the Public Services Commission (PSC) in Accra, on the theme: “Improving Information and Security Management for Good Governance.”

He said improved information security would help to sustain democracy, adding that confidentiality and integrity were the ways to address the challenges that confronted information security management in the country.

Dr Aning said it was important to strengthen the cyber security laws and regulate user behaviour to check issues of hiking.

He called for collaboration with international bodies like ECOWAS and the AU on cyber security where mechanisms would be put in place to monitor networks to help protect the nation on security issues.

Dr. Aning suggested the need for the monitoring of social media sites to check the tendency of people posting publications that would incite ethnic conflicts and open the country to attack.

He advocated public education on the threats that the social networks posed to information security.

Ms Dorothy Gordon, Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Information Technology Institute at Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence, proposed retraining of the entire public service on electronic data and information system.

She said institutions should endeavour to provide quality training for students to meet the requirements of the current trend in information technology.

Ms Gordon said government should make provision for individuals to come up with ideas to develop the information security structure.

She stressed the need for policy clarity to implement programmes relating to control, security of data, storage and back-ups for information security.

Mr. Cletus Azangweo, Former Director, Public Records Archives and Administration Department, expressed dissatisfaction about the poor record keeping habit among Ghanaians which had led to frustrations such as claiming of ownership of land and pensions.

He stated that, improper keeping of record of information had led to negligence; financial mismanagement and corruption in most organisations and cautioned public office holders to embrace record keeping to avoid unnecessary frustrations when the Right to Information Bill was passed into law.

Mr Azangweo pointed out that, improper record keeping could pose a threat to information security because certain important data were likely to fall in wrong hands and be leaked to the public.

He urged the public to attach more importance to record classification whether electronically or manually for easier reference when the need arose.

Mrs Bridget Katsriku, Chairman of PSC, said the theme was timely especially at a time when Parliament was making efforts to pass the Right to Information Bill into law.

She noted that the Commission intended to partner other agencies to re-structure the entire record management system.**