For the first time, 51 stakeholders in the cybersecurity sector have received accreditation and licences from Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority (CSA).
Cybersecurity Establishments (CEs) like Absa Bank, Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, and Guarantee Trust Bank; Cybersecurity Service Providers (CSPs) like Virtual Infosec Africa, e-Crime Bureau, and CWG Ghana; and Cybersecurity Professionals (CPs) like Kester Quist-Aphetsi, Tornyelli Tetteh, Jeannette Quayson, Olivia Jones, and Ebenezer N. Nakoja are some of these players.
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Ghana experienced four million data breaches this year
This action is being taken in response to the nearly 4 million data breaches that Ghana has had this year. According to research by VPN company Surf Shark, Ghana ranks ninth in Africa and 92nd worldwide for data breaches, with 12 incidents per 100 individuals.
Ghana is now the first nation in Africa and the second globally, behind Singapore, to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for CSPs, CEs, and CPs, an accomplishment hailed by the CSA as a historic first.
Subsequently, the CSA wants to license additional providers and enforce stringent adherence, with sanctions for noncompliance.
Penalties for violators
The Cybersecurity Act 2020 is being broken by CSPs, CEs, and CPs who provide cybersecurity services without a licence, according to a warning from the CSA’s Director-General, Albert Antwi-Boasiako.
He emphasised that those who violated the rules would be subject to penalties and criminal charges.
In addition, he reminded individuals obtaining licences to fulfil all prerequisites and stated that the CSA is collaborating with the Public Procurement Authority to guarantee adherence to the regulations.
About Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority (CSA)
The Cybersecurity Act 2020 (Act 1038) established the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) to oversee cybersecurity operations in Ghana, encourage the industry’s growth, and handle related concerns.
With the appointment of the National Cybersecurity Advisor in 2017, the CSA formally began operations on October 1, 2021. Later, in 2018, the CSA became the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), an agency under the former Ministry of Communications, after changing its name from the National Cyber Security Secretariat (NCSS) in 2017.
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CSA’s mandate
As a government agency under the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization, it’s saddled with the responsibilities of regulating cybersecurity activities within the nation; preventing, managing, and responding to cybersecurity threats and incidents; regulating cybersecurity activity, cybersecurity service providers, and cybersecurity practitioners within the nation; promoting the development of cybersecurity within the nation to ensure a secure and resilient digital ecosystem.
Its other mandates are to raise awareness of cybersecurity issues, provide a forum for cross-sector engagements on cybersecurity issues to facilitate efficient coordination and cooperation between critical public institutions and the private sector and work with foreign organisations to advance the nation’s cybersecurity system.