National Cyber Security Awareness month to be launched on October 1

The Ministry of Communications through the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), an agency with the mandate to coordinate Ghana’s cybersecurity development, will hold its annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) from October 1st to 31st, 2020.

The month-long event will be conducted in a hybrid format comprising physical engagements (under strict COVID-19 protocols) and the use of virtual platforms including live stream on NCSAMTV, Facebook, YouTube and updated across various social media pages such as Instagram and Twitter.

It will involve thought-leadership sessions, panel discussions, workshops and media engagements aimed at intensifying capacity building and awareness creation efforts on cybercrime and cybersecurity issues among Ghanaians, a statement signed and issued by the Head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Communication, Naa Korkoi Essah said.

Recognized as the leading event within the cybersecurity space, NCSAM will educate children, the public, businesses and government stakeholders on cyber hygiene best practices, consistent with the Safer Digital Ghana campaign, the statement said.

This year’s event will have weekly high-level events; Launch of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month and Child Online Protection Reporting Portal, Forum on Impact of COVID-19 on Ghana’s Digitalization Agenda, Cybersecurity Forum with Industry Players and the other activities covering the four pillars of the Safer Digital Ghana campaign (Children, the Public, Businesses and Government).

Speakers include Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications, Members of the National Cybersecurity Inter-Ministerial Advisory Council (NCSIAC), Ambassador Stephanie S. Sullivan, United States Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs. Anne-Claire Dufay, Country Representative of UNICEF Ghana, Mr George Nenyi Andah, Deputy Communications Minister, Mr Alexander K.K Abban, Deputy Communications Minister, Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako, National Cybersecurity Advisor, Members of the National Cybersecurity Technical Working Group and non-governmental stakeholders including Deloitte, ISACA, e-Crime Bureau, Innovare, Surfline, Margins Group, Zerofox, CalBank among others.

The event will also attract collaboration with Ghana’s cybersecurity partners, including the Council of Europe, UNICEF, Security Governance Initiative (SGI) of the US Government and the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) among others.

Speaking on the event, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications said, “COVID-19 pandemic has changed our way of life and this event will focus on the how our Children, the Public, Businesses as well as Government institutions can ensure utmost protection of their online activities whilst utilising digital platforms”.

The theme for this year’s edition is “Cybersecurity in the era of COVID-19”, reflecting on the current trends on cybersecurity incidents as a result of the increasing use of digital platforms by individuals, businesses and Governments for socio-economic activities in view of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The official hashtag for the event is #NCSAM2020 and #SaferDigitalGhana and will be streamed on all social media platforms.