MON, 06 JAN 2025: TECHNOLOGY
Ghana’s cybersecurity landscape looked impressive in 2024. The commitment from the Cyber Security Authority of Ghana (CSA)
to bolster cyber resilience in the country was a key factor.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Africa losses over $ 3.5 billion dollars as a result of cyberattacks.
This necessitates a strong cybersecurity implementation across the region to safeguard critical infrastructures and also mitigate risks of cyber threats.
This article will highlight the key cybersecurity happenings in Ghana you missed in 2024.
Ghana Recognized Among the Best-Performing Countries
Ghana was honored by ITU, in their Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) report, as among the best-performing cybersecurity countries in the world serving as a role model to other countries, especially Africa.
In the report, Ghana was placed in tier 1 together with Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, and Tanzania in Africa and other 41 countries globally.
This remarkable achievement demonstrates the country’s desire and collaborative effort to combat cybercrime.
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National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS) Launch
To strengthen Ghana’s cybersecurity even more, the country launched a national policy to address cyber threats and other cybersecurity-related stuff for the next five years.
The policy aligns with the ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Agenda guideline for cybersecurity development for the purpose of building a resilient digital ecosystem, securing digital infrastructure, developing national capacity, deterring cybercrime, and strengthening cooperation.
Child Online Protection (COP) Framework Launch
Ghana launched an online protection framework to fight the increasing threats children face while navigating the digital space.
Threats such as cyberbullying, harassment, exposure to inappropriate content, and child sexual exploitation are crucial to children’s emotional and psychological health.The framework is here to correct and guide such practices and to safeguard children.
Stringent Regulations
Government regulations are what ensure industries are doing what is expected of them when it comes to the collective effort to safeguard the country’s digital space.
To ensure cybersecurity ecosystem compliance, the CSA inaugurated 13-member independent assessors to keep organizations in check with their cybersecurity.
Also, the Authority continued to issue accredited licenses to Cybersecurity Service Providers (CSPs), Cybersecurity Establishments (CEs), and Cybersecurity Professionals (CPs). The Authority values this exercise and maintains an entrenched decision that no CSPs and other establishments offering cybersecurity services can continue without being licensed or accredited.
Some Notable Cybersecurity Statistics of Ghana in 2024
Below are some notable cybersecurity statistics from various reports in 2024 that featured Ghana.
Surge in Data Breaches
Surfshark, a cybersecurity company that offers a variety of online privacy and security solutions, released a spreadsheet of countries and their corresponding data breaches suffered.
Ghana was ranked ninth among the ten African countries with the most data breaches in the first quarter of 2024.
A data breach is when an unauthorized person gains access to confidential, sensitive information.
According to them, the country recorded a 997% breach increase in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, resulting in a total of 1.2 million breaches.
Most DDoS Attacks in West Africa
NETSCOUT, a cybersecurity firm, also revealed Ghana recorded the most Distributed Denial of Service attack in West Africa in their DDOS Threat Intelligence Report.
A DDos attack is when threat actors flood a targeted system with multiple requests to overload the amount of bandwidth it can allow. This creates congestion and leads to the unavailability of a service or resource for legitimate users.
According to the report, Ghana experienced 4,753 Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks where cybercriminals overwhelmed systems to make them unavailable.
Ghana Among the Countries Least Protected From Fraud
According to the Sumsub Global Fraud Index 2024, Ghana is among the countries least protected from fraud globally alongside Algeria and Ethiopia in Africa.
For online shopping scams alone, the CSA recorded over 210 cases of online shopping scams from January to October 2024 leading to a loss of over Ghc 410,000.
According to the Bank of Ghana’s 2023 fraud report, fraud cases increased from 15,164 in 2022 to 15,865 in 2023, resulting in a total loss of approximately Gh$88 million in 2023 as compared to GH$82 million in 2022.
Fraud is becoming sophisticated these days with Al-powered techniques like deepfake technology which necessitates more security awareness.
Conclusion
Ghana made significant strides in safeguarding the digital space for its citizens. The efforts of the CSA, coupled with robust policies, frameworks, and strict regulations, highlight the country’s commitment to safeguarding its digital infrastructure.
However, as cyber threats grow more sophisticated, it is crucial for all stakeholders— government, organizations, and individuals-to maintain a united front to ensure a secure and resilient digital ecosystem for all.
This article was originally published on: Modern Ghana
