The Director-General of the Cyber Security Authority, Dr. Albert Antwi Boasiako, has revealed that Ghana had a score of 86.69% in Online Security (a key dimension of the index) consistent with the country’s score on the ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) for 2023.
According to him, In the Groupe Special Mobile Association (GSMA) Mobile Connectivity Index (MCI) 2023 report, Ghana is ranked 4th in Africa with a score of 51.4% depicting significant progress in connectivity over the past five years.
He made this known during the launch of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month at the Ministry of Information yesterday. It is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness about cybersecurity and promoting best practices for online safety.
He further noted that Ghana is one of 22 countries globally to annually celebrate National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM).
Mr. Boasiako added that the Global digitalisation trends have changed the way businesses are conducted today, created opportunities, and provided enabling environments for economic growth.
“Recent Statistics indicates that more than 62% (4.95 billion) of the world’s population have access to the internet. In Ghana, internet penetration has increased exponentially from 2.31 million in 2012 to 17 million users in 2022 representing 53% of the population”.
“Ghana’s internet penetration rate i.e. internet users in 2023 stands at 23.05 million representing 68.2% of the total population. Out of this, 6.6 million (19.5%) are active social media users contributing to the country’s 13th rank on the list of countries that spend considerable time on the internet,” he added.
The Director-General stated that Ghana started NCSAM in 2017 with the establishment of the National Cyber Security Week which subsequently evolved into a month-long event under the auspices of the then National Cyber Security Secretariat.
To him, each year has been distinctive with relevant themes: 2017 started with the ‘Securing Ghana’s Digital Journey’.
Ghana’s success
On this, Mr. Boasiako reinstated Ghana’s effort at ensuring a culture of digital safety is borne out of the country’s cyberculture and societal dimension derived from the cybersecurity Capacity Maturity Model (CMM) assessment commissioned by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation in January 2018.
This assessment, he said, was conducted by the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre (GCSCC) of the University of Oxford in collaboration with the World Bank.
Key among the critical issues captured by the assessment Mr. Boasiako bemoanedis the lack of cybersecurity consciousness and awareness among the Ghanaian public.
“Also, captured were inadequate security measures for government e-services with knowledge gaps in fundamental cybersecurity concepts”, he noted.
Following these shortfalls, his outfit is seeking to leverage the NCSAM 2023 to address the concerns raised in the assessment hence the theme, ‘Promoting a Culture of Digital Safety’.
The theme this year, Mr. Boasiako said, would highlight the importance of cultivating a collective mindset and behaviour that values and promotes responsible online practices, cybersecurity awareness, and the protection of personal information.
In a speech which was read on behalf of the Minister for Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful by the deputy, she said the media launch, as a key component of the NCSAM, aims to address these worrying concerns by promoting cybersecurity awareness in collaboration with government officials, private sector players, business executives, cybersecurity professionals, educationists, representatives from civil society organisations and the media.
“As the flagship of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), the NCSAM launch is expected to further help create a synergy between the public and private sector stakeholder groups to intensify awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and the inherent risks associated with it,” she stated.
The minister believes that the launch will create awareness about the importance of digital safety in the digital world by highlighting the potential risks and vulnerabilities associated with the cyber landscape, educate the public on best practices and guidelines for digital safety, engage stakeholders to intensify their efforts in spearheading a safer digital environment.
