Academia & Industry Need to Join Forces to Combat Cybercrime – Bawumia

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Monday, called for stronger linkages between the Universities and industry to equip the young cyber experts with the requisite tools to strengthen Ghana’s readiness to combat the increasing spate of cybercrimes and cyber security breaches.

He said a robust digital ecosystem was essential if the country was to achieve the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda, saying that, all the fundamental importance of the innovations the Government was putting in place anchored on reducing the cost of transactions and making the life of the citizens better.

Therefore, he said, there was the need to ensure that the systems, networks and processes that governed the use of and access to technologies were reliable and predictable.

Dr Bawumia said these when he launched the National Cyber Security Awareness Month and the National Cyber Security Awareness Programme dubbed: “A Safer Digital Ghana”, in Accra.

“While we’re becoming more reliant on the digital economy, it is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to create awareness to ensure the digital world is secured and mutually beneficial to all users,” he said.

A cyber security maturity study commissioned by the Ministry of Communications and conducted by the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre (GCSCC) of the University of Oxford in collaboration with the World Bank, has described Ghana’s cyber security maturity level at a formative stage based on the Cyber Security Capacity Maturity Model for nations adopted for the study.

The month-long programme aims at educating the public to safeguard the country’s cyber space and ensure a safer digital citizenship at all levels – children, the public, business and government, for the safety and security of Ghana’s digital ecosystem.

The event, jointly organised by the Ministry of Communications and the National Cyber Security Centre, brought together Information Communication Technology Experts, Chief Executives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Members of Parliament, Ministers of State and development partners. Traditional rulers and students, also attended the programme.

Dr Bawumia said both governments and businesses around the world were searching for effective and efficient cyber defence strategies.

“Indeed, our Critical National Information Infrastructure, such as the banking system, energy, government services, telecommunications and our national defence are now dependent on our ability as a country to secure these infrastructure.

Vice President Bawumia gave the assurance that the country, under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was heading in the right direction regarding the digitisation of the economy.

He recalled some government policies initiated to formalise the economy and increase the revenue mobilisation efforts, such as the National Digital Property Addressing System, Mobile Money Payment Interoperability System, Paperless Ports System, National Identification System, Electronic Procurement System, while efforts were underway to digitize the land administration system.

However, he said, the nation could not fully reap the digital dividends as a means of socio-economic transformation, if we failed to mitigate both existing and emerging cyber security threats.

Vice President Bawumia said: “This awareness month is to bring to the attention of the general public the already critical importance of security within the cyber ecosystem of our country as well as the profound impact of dynamic technologies in our lives”.

He said the nation was part of a global village that was pushing for connectivity in an increasingly digital world, nothing that, “For a growing number of citizens, daily connectivity has almost become an essential commodity”.

“As we become more and closely connected to each other, together we become highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. When there are insufficient authentication methods or lack of consumer security knowledge then each user is only as safe or vulnerable as the other”.

Vice President Bawumia acknowledged the danger posed by cyber attackers, noting that, attackers usually aimed at accessing, changing or distorting sensitive information.

“Some extort money from users, or they interrupt business processes whether in the private or public sector. Imagine the effects of attackers on the financial system.

“They can misdirect financial transactions and distort bank records. And the cost of such data breaches no doubt can be very high,” Dr Bawumia observed.

To safeguard the country’s cyber space, the Vice President said a National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy had been drafted and that the policy and the strategy would be completed by the end of the year, subject to stakeholders input.

The Policy, he said, would mandate the Ministry of Communications to work with other Ministries, Agencies, the private sector and Ghana’s International Partners to address any issues that may have the potential to compromise the country’s security.

He said a National Cyber Security Inter-Ministerial Advisory Council and a National Cyber Security Technical Working Group were inaugurated by the President and the Minister of Communications in October last year, to support the Ministry in securing the nation’s cyberspace.

“The Council and the Technical Working Group, which is represented by relevant government agencies are working to ensure that all the necessary inter-linkages and the likely impacts are effectively coordinated at the policy and operational levels of government,” Dr Bawumia stated.

Source: GNA