Support govt draw up cyber security policy— Omane Boamah
The Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, has asked the cyber security community to support the government to devise a comprehensive national cyber security policy that will tackle cyber threat in the country.
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He said although the government was determined to develop a national cyber security policy framework and strategy to deal with cyber threats, there was the need for stakeholders to give their input towards an effective policy.
Dr Boamah made the call at a validation workshop on the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy in Accra yesterday.
The workshop, which brought together stakeholders, including the Ghana Internet Service Providers Association (GISPA) and the Ghana
Network Operations Group (ghNOG), provided the participants with a platform to discuss ways of addressing cybercrime.
Cyber threat
Dr Boamah said the new national cyber security policy framework would, among other things, enhance national security and protect the well-being of Ghanaians using the cyberspace.
He said over the years, cybercrime had become a major threat to national development, both in developed and developing countries, adding that “this has raised the need for countries to think of ways of solving the problem”.
He said although in Ghana Internet fraud, popularly referred to as “Sakawa”, had gained root among the youth, cybercrimes in general extended to other areas.
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“If we want to protect the national infrastructure, then we must begin to properly address cybercrime,” he stressed.
He stated that Ghana was collaborating with the United States of America (USA) to devise an effective policy to address cybercrime.
Privacy
A Hall of Fame member of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Prof. Nii Narku Quaynor, said a cyber security policy must touch on the privacy of the individual and organisations in order to be effective.
He said the rising rate of cyber threat, if not properly dealt with, could spell doom for the nation and scuttle the move to attain development goals.
“And in order to deal with cyber threat, we need a strong and formidable policy strategy,” he said.