Banks to Publish Specific Cyber Security Policies

The Governor of Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, in its quest to prevent cyber-attacks, has announced that financial institutions will soon be required to publish bank-specific cyber security policies.

According to him, this would be in line with the provisions in the Payment Systems and Services Bill which is expected to be passed by Parliament soon.

The disclosure was made on Wednesday, addressing a gathering at a summit on ‘Digital Banking and Cyber Security’ organized by Standard Chartered Bank.

Cyber-attacks on banks has been on the rise recently, especially in the Western countries.

This has caused fear and panic amongst industry players because they feel Ghanaian banks and other financial institutions are not adequately protected.

According to the Governor, financial Institutions would also be required to implement an integrated approach by adopting enterprise-wide frameworks of cyber risk management in line with business objectives.

“It is anticipated that the integrated approach to cyber security management would support financial institutions achieve both business and security focused objectives, as well as regulatory compliance in an efficient and effective way,” he mentioned.

So far, the Bank has prepared a banking sector Cyber and Information Security guidelines to protect consumers and create a safer environment for online and e-payments products.

The guidelines, according to the Mr. Ernest Addison, seeks to create a secure environment for transactions within the cyberspace and guarantee trust and confidence in ICT systems.

“It also seeks to provide an assurance framework for the design of security policies in compliance to global security standards and best practices by way of cyber and information security assessments, and protect banks, customers and clients against the potentially devastating consequences of cyber-attacks,” he stressed.

He said cyber-attacks cannot be fought using the regulatory, and further called on all banks to examine the state of their security systems, identify gaps and design appropriate mechanisms to counter possible cyber threats.

By: Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum/ thePublisher