Govt to step up cyber security

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has rated Ghana’s readiness in cyber security technology below 30 per cent, a position a National Cyber Security Advisor, Mr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, described as worrying.

According to him, the parameters used in ranking included the use of technology in the areas of governance, enforcement of legislations and critical national infrastructure such as the health sector and finance.

For this reason, he said the government was focused on advancing the country’s cyber security system and meeting the international security expectations and partnering with the private sector.

“Government is however collaborating with Skylinks Technical Service Limited, an Israeli cyber technology company to step up the country’s cyber security status. We are also rolling out plans to at least reach above 50 per cent of ITU rating by the next two years,” he added.

He said this during a Cyber Security briefing in Accra to announce the mechanisms put in place by the government in line with the implementation of Ghana’s cyber security policy.

Collaboration

The private sector collaboration, he explained, was due to the fact that Skylinks had the necessary expertise to help the government realise its objective to building cyber security.

 Mr Antwi-Boasiako added that the ministry would also collaborate with all relevant institutions such as the Attorney- General’s Department, National Security, Ministry of Interior, Finance and Foreign Affairs to build a stronger cyber technology in Ghana.

He indicated that a secretariat had been set up to oversee the cyber situation in the country and to help develop a robust e-Governance architecture, he added.

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Benefits

Interacting with journalists, the Ambassador of Israel to Ghana, Mr Ami Mehi, pledged to share his country’s expertise in cyber security technology.

“The Israeli cyber security industry has reached a high-level standard, therefore I believe the co-operation between us would deepen all other relations with Ghana,” he said.

A Deputy Director-General of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Mr Kweku Kyei Ofori, in a presentation, cautioned the public to avoid visiting every site on the Internet.

He explained that negligence on the part of members of the public had allowed hackers to have access to their information.