Strengthen Capacities To Combat Cyber Crime Ursula

Stakeholders in the African sub-region have been urged to strengthen their capacities in the fight against cybercrime while harnessing the vast potential of the digitisation evolution.

Director of International Affairs at the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation, Kwame Baah Acheamfuor, in a keynote address on behalf of the Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, at the plenary session of the 2024 ITU Interpol Cyberdrill for the Africa region in Accra said strengthening Cyber security could create a safer and a more secure future for the sub-region.

She said in recent years, Africa’s digital landscape has increasingly become a target for cybercriminals, who persist in exploiting the continent’s vulnerabilities and underscores the severity of the obstacles in the cyber space per the 2024 interpol report.

The International Telecommunication Union, ITU-INTERPOL CyberDrill for the Africa Region is aimed at enhancing and assessing the cybersecurity readiness and resilience of African CERTs/ CSIRTs and National Cybersecurity Centres.

It was aimed at promoting the adoption of international cybersecurity standards and best practices in the Region; facilitate regional collaboration and information sharing on cybersecurity issues and support international cooperation in combating cybercrime.

According to her, statistics available indicate that cybercrime has evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry, with threats such as Business Email Compromise (BEC), Phishing, Banking Trojans and Stealers, Crime-as-a service and Cyber extortion becoming increasingly prevalent.

She said such issues with dire financial implications were not only confined to governments or IT departments but is existential threats to collective security, economies, and future of every one across the globe.

The Minister stated that the ITU, Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2020 rated Ghana third in Africa, with a score of 86.69%, acting as a reliable benchmark for measuring the government’s commitment to cybersecurity on a worldwide scale.

She said based on ITU’s framework, which focuses on legal measures, organisational and technical measures among others, Ghana has reviewed its National Cybersecurity Policy and tactic which has been approved by cabinet and expected to be outdoored next month.