By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, Oct. 3, GNA – Dr Divine Selase Agbeti, Director-General of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), has said cyber attackers are increasingly exploiting institutional gaps within Ghana’s cybersecurity framework.
He said the situation called for financial institutions to share actionable threat intelligence to enable organisations to proactively address cyber threats and attacks.
Dr Agbeti made the remarks at an event to mark National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, on the theme: “Securing Ghana’s Digital Finance Ecosystem.”
The occasion also coincided with the 15th anniversary of the Cyber Security Authority.
Dr Agbeti said the vulnerabilities being exploited by cybercriminals highlighted the need for stronger institutional collaboration through information sharing and timely intelligence exchange.
“We need financial institutions to share actionable threat intelligence, we need telecommunications companies to work closely with banks and fintechs, and we need regulators, technology companies, law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity service providers to exchange information quickly enough to disrupt attacks before losses occur,” he said.
He noted that a sustainable digital economy could not exist without digital trust, and digital trust could not be achieved without robust cybersecurity.
Dr Agbeti said collaboration remained central to strengthening the country’s cyber resilience.
He said the recurring nature of cyberattacks created the impression that there was inadequate intelligence sharing among cyber defenders.
“Cybersecurity intelligence sharing cannot be treated as a competition among defenders. If one institution detects an attack today and another experiences the same attack tomorrow because the intelligence was not shared, then we have collectively failed,” he said.
Dr Agbeti explained that the true measure of collaboration was not the number of agreements signed.
“Rather, the real measure is how quickly institutions can detect, share information, respond and recover together,” he added.
Mr Daniel Sowah Klu, Head of Cyber and Information Security at the Bank of Ghana, said the Central Bank was working closely with the CSA to operationalise digital forensic laboratories and other critical infrastructure.
He said the laboratories would provide specialised services in the preservation, acquisition and analysis of digital evidence.
He said the digital forensic laboratory was being positioned to support the Bank of Ghana, the CSA, financial institutions, law enforcement agencies and other relevant public sector organisations, as well as the wider financial services industry.
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is an annual month-long campaign aimed at promoting cybersecurity awareness and best practices among the public and institutions.
Activities scheduled for the month include the launch of the Cybersecurity Press Corps and a workshop on cyber hygiene and child online protection in the Ashanti Region.
GNA
Reporter: Morkporkpor Anku
[email protected]