Cybersecurity Awareness Month launched

This year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month has been launched with a call on citizens to build a culture of responsibility and vigilance online. 

That, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, said would augment the government’s efforts in combating misinformation and disinformation to protect the integrity of the country’s digital landscape.

“I urge you all to commit to this collective effort as a resilient democracy is founded not just on the strength of our institutions, but on informed and active participation of our people.

“Let’s work hand in hand to secure a brighter, safer and digital future for Ghana,” she said at the launch in Accra yesterday.

It was on the theme: “Combating misinformation/disinformation in a digitally resilient democracy — Our collective responsibility."

The minister also launched the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy document to guide the implementation plan for Ghana's cybersecurity development.

Concerns

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful mentioned the use of YouTube channels to spread politically-based disinformation, the increasing use of encrypted platforms such as Telegram for disinformation, and the use of automated voices to amplify fake content as some of the troubling concerns revealed by the national computer emergency response team in its latest analysis.

To combat the menace of digitisation and misinformation effectively, she said it was imperative to engage the public and media on how to detect and report false information in lead up to the elections.

The minister further announced that as part of efforts to develop counter-strategies to tackle the issues, the government was working with digital platform owners such as META to establish a rapid response mechanism for reporting fake accounts, as well as disinformation and misinformation.

She reminded the public that legally, spreading disinformation and misinformation was an offence under section Section 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, Act 29 and section 76 of the Electronic Communications Act (Act 775).

She also called on the National Communications Authority, the Ghana Police Service and the Office of the Attorney-General to expedite the prosecution of individuals who deliberately spread false information to bolster efforts against the menace.

Sensitisation

The Director-General of the Cyber Security Authority, Dr Albert Antwi Boasiako, said combatting disinformation must start with the individual.

“We must engage actively in improving our digital literacy and promotion of healthy online habits as we navigate through a myriad of information to make electoral decisions.

“Each citizen, regardless of his or her technological proficiency or political orientation, should be educated to recognise false or malicious information and understand its dangers,” he said.

Commitment

For his part, the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, reaffirmed the Ghana Armed Forces’ commitment to protect the country’s cyberspace, saying GAF recognises cyberspace as a fifth domain of warfare.

He urged citizens to understand the implications of cyber threats and to verify any information before sharing, particularly as misinformation can disrupt peace and security.

The CDS also encouraged military personnel to enhance their cybersecurity skills and adopt best practices, adding “together, we must detect, prevent and mitigate the spread of misinformation”.