Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, the National Cyber Security Advisor, has called for the establishment of a National Cyber Security Fund to mobilise diverse funding sources towards protecting the country’s cyber security architecture.
This would help establish a more resilient defense against threats posed by cyber criminals.
He said the nation could no longer rely on the paltry funds received from the Consolidated Fund to manage cyber security challenges, considering the sophistication of cyber criminals in their daily dealings.
He said that 75 percent of the cyber security breaches were financially motivated, therefore it was urgent to tackle it with all seriousness.
The Cyber Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service recently announced that Ghana lost US$105 million and US$65 million in 2018 and 2017 respectively, through cybercrime.
Dr Antwi-Boasiako, therefore, called for the establishment of a National Cyber Security Authority to regulate the country’s cyber security industry and safeguard its digital infrastructure.
He made the call in a presentation during a panel discussion on the topic: “Cyber Security Information Management and Knowledge Management” at the Ghana Digital Roadmap Conference, in Accra on Thursday.
It was organised by the Vice President’s Secretariat and the Ministry of Communications.
The conference brought together key stakeholders in the ICT industry, academia, other stakeholders in the industry, policy-makers and Ministers of State, and aimed at maximising the country’s digital assets for the benefit of the local economy.
Dr Antwi-Boasiako expressed worry about the wanton proliferation of fake news and video recordings on the social media, noting that such fake news has the potential of undermining the country’s peace and security.
He cited instances where people created and circulated videos of people voting during the last elections when polls had not opened, which created unnecessary tension.
He called for the formulation of a cyber-security legislation that would deal decisively with cybercrime and cyber related offences.
Dr Antwi-Boasiako said the country adopted a National Cyber Security Strategy in 2016, but that document is being revised and very soon the public would be given the opportunity to make inputs to ensure a robust and holistic strategy to deal with cyber security issues.
