Dr. Antwi-Boasiako appointed Director-General of Cyber Security Authority

President Akufo-Addo has appointed Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako as the Acting Director-General of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) effective October 1, 2021.

Prior to this appointment, he served as the National Cybersecurity Advisor and Head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), leading Ghana’s institutionalization of cybersecurity under the policy direction of the Minister for Communications & Digitalisation, Hon Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, who is responsible for cybersecurity matters in government.

Dr Antwi-Boasiako has led, the revision of Ghana’s National Cybersecurity Policy & Strategy (NCPS) and the development and passage of Ghana’s Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038), two enabling interventions which constitute the anchors of Ghana’s cybersecurity development. In his role as Advisor to Government and the Head of the NCSC, Ghana acceded to the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention), ratified the African Union Convention on Cyber Security & Personal Data Protection, launched Ghana’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Programme (Safer Digital Ghana) and established Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Points of Contact which has allowed the public to report cybercrime and cybersecurity incidents.

During his tenure as Cybersecurity Advisor, Ghana’s cybersecurity has improved on the ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Index from 32.6% in 2017 to 86.69% in 2021, with Ghana becoming the 3rd most ranked country on the African continent and a global ranking of 43^rd from the previous 89^th position. A position achieved through his leadership and a collective efforts of the National Cyber Security Technical Working Group (NCSTWG), which was established in 2017 by the then Minister for Communications as part of the institutionalization of Ghana’s cybersecurity architecture.

Dr Antwi-Boasiako previously served as a Cyber Security Expert with the Interpol Global Cybercrime Expert Group (IGCEG) and is an Expert with the Council of Europe’s Global Action on Cybercrime Extended (GLACY+) Project.

He founded e-Crime Bureau, the first and an award-winning cybersecurity and digital forensics firm to be established and operate in West Africa, in 2011. Albert completed his PhD studies at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, introducing the Harmonized Model for Digital Evidence Admissibility Assessment (HM-DEAA) as a ground-breaking contribution to digital forensics standardisation. The HM-DEAA has been adopted by the UNODC as part of its Education for Justice (E4J) Programme.

Albert graduated from the University of Trento in Italy for his undergraduate programme and the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom for his postgraduate programme, receiving cum laude and distinction respectively. He has a number of publications covering information technology, cybersecurity, cybercrimes, data protection and digital forensics to his credit.

Dr Antwi-Boasiako has conducted cybersecurity related consulting and assignments for a number of international and local organizations including the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC), United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD), the European Union, Commonwealth Cybercrime Initiative (CCI) of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Global Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG)/Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) among others.

Dr Antwi-Boasiako is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC). He is also a Faculty Member at the Ghana Police Command and Staff College (GPCSC).

Dr Antwi-Boasiako has received a number of awards and global recognitions. In June 2021, he was recognised as the world’s 20^th most Influential Security Executive in the Cybersecurity Category by IFSEC Global, a respected industry body based in the United Kingdom.

Dr Antwi-Boasiako currently serves as the Government of Ghana’s representative on the Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). He also serves as a Bureau Member of the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) and the Government of Ghana’s representative to ECOWAS’ Regional Technical Committee (RTC) on Cybersecurity. Dr Antwi-Boasiako also serves on the Governing Board of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA).

As the Director-General of the newly established Authority, Dr Antwi-Boasiako is expected to lead Ghana’s cybersecurity regulatory efforts under the policy direction of the Ministry of Communications & Digitalisation. Primary focus of the regulatory activities of the Cyber Security Authority includes the protection of Ghana’s critical information infrastructures, cybersecurity incident reporting and information sharing, and regulation of cybersecurity services in the country, among others.