Over five – thousand (5000) potential cybercrime victims in Ghana have been rescued within ten (10) months from cybercrime-related attacks following the establishment of Incident Reporting Point of Contact by the Ministry of Communication.
The platform was launched in October 2019 to facilitate reporting of cybercrime and cyber security incidents such as online identity theft, financial fraud, stalking, bullying, hacking, e-mail spoofing, information piracy and forgery, intellectual property crime, sextortion among others.
Speaking to the media in Koforidua after a workshop on Tuesday, the Head of National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) Dr. Albert Antwi-Bosiako, said “the launch of the Point of Contact by the Ministry of Communication is one major Intervention that has brought relief to the public and just this year alone between January and August more than 5000 people called our office through 292 and other platforms just to seek for guidance and that helped them to prevent potential cybercrime issues”.
He singled out the arrest of the owner of the empress leak porn site as one of the success stories done through inter-sectorial collaboration after the complaint was lodged by an 18-year-old girl.
Dr. Antwi-Bosiako however cautioned the youth to be careful since National Cyber Security Center doesn’t have absolute control over pornographic images uploaded on the internet therefore can do little about controlling it.
Nonetheless, Dr. Antwi Bosiako said, Ghana’s Cyber Security ecosystem is now relatively robust and efficient following significantly government interventions and investment.
“Ghana’s cyber security readiness has improved relatively if you look at the global ranking. In 2017 were somewhere around 32% base on intervention the government has made within the last three and half years IT is currently collating the data for 2020 we wouldn’t be under 50%. In terms of our interventions, one of them is the introduction of the safer digital Campaign by the Vice President.”
He stated “Parliament under the government also ratified the convention on cybercrime. It’s one of the few international conventions the only operational Conventions to deal with cybercrime that has improved law Enforcement Corporation in terms of investigating cases”.
Dr. Albert Antwi-Bosiako said Ghana’s Cyber Security will further be boosted when the Cyber Security draft bill is passed by Parliament.
“Most importantly, the Minister for Communication has submitted a draft cyber security bill to cabinet after Cabinet Consideration we expect Parliament to look at it. That bill when passed into law would regulate-it would help improve the legal environment for cyber security.”
He said “one of the issues it is going to address is to establish a cyber-security Authority with regulatory powers for the protection of critical Information infrastructure, improving the legal arrangement around the protection of Children, licensing of Cyber security service providers and products, accreditation of Cyber security professionals and licensing so these are the things that will further clean up our ecosystem to have a safe digital space for our anticipated digital-driven economy that President is championing.”
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Obed Ansah
