Businesses urged to invest in cyber security

Businesses have been encouraged to invest more in cyber security in order to protect their operations or systems from hackers.

A board member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), a global information systems organisation, Mr C.K. Bruce said a recent business survey report by Microsoft Ghana had established that businesses the world over spent an estimated amount of $127 billion annually to help correct issues with infested or pirated softwares by companies.

At a workshop for IT professionals in Accra, he emphasised that cyber security was one of the biggest challenges businesses usually encountered.

The one-day event, put together by the young professionals (YP) of ISACA, brought together more than 50 professionals from the banking, insurance, assurance and IT industries among other such institutions.

Even though Mr Bruce said companies might not see the immediate returns in monetary terms, he indicated that it was far better than allowing it to occur before spending huge sums of money to correct the anomalies.

Topics including risk management, security frameworks and structures were discussed as part of the philosophies for information security. 

Reputation 

According to Mr Bruce, companies all over the world were struggling to handle cyber security, partly because it was a complex whole that needed to be looked at holistically.

“In order to protect their reputation, businesses find it difficult to put in the public domain how they are affected by cyber fraud. If they do, people can no longer trust their security,” he said.

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He called for a policy document and specialised information security departments in companies which would ensure the security of their data.

Risk management 

In a presentation, the Product Development Manager of GCNet, Mr Carl Sackey, called for strict guidance on risk management in companies.

“The world is becoming riskier every day, and businesses should be up and doing to be able to withstand the complexities associated with the risks in organisations. Ensuring risk management is protecting your capital, brand and assets,” he said.

Incorporation 

In an interview with the Daily Graphic after the programme, the President of the Accra Chapter of ISACA, Mr K. N. Akwa, said employees in organisations should be incorporated into the activities of the company.

He noted that cyber security was not the responsibility of IT professionals in the company alone, rather it was the responsibility of every worker.

Mr Akwa also called for constant training of employees to be security-conscious, such that they would be incorporated into the activities of the organisation.