Ghana seeks to become the most cyber-secure country in Africa in the coming years. Speaking during the installation ceremony of the Board of Directors of the National Cybersecurity Authority last week, the country’s Minister of digitalization said “the government, within the last five years, has taken our cyber security development seriously.”

“The establishment of the Cyber Security Authority is one of the critical milestones achieved,” under this strategy, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said. According to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) 2020 Global Cybersecurity Index report, Ghana ranked third in Africa and 43rd in the world based on the preparedness of the legislative and technical environment for cybercriminal attacks. With a score of 86.69/100, the country was better ranked than South Africa, which attracts the main foreign investment in digital technology, including data centers and optical fiber networks. The top 3 consists of Mauritius, Tanzania, and Ghana.

“We cannot simply sustain our digitalization efforts without cyber security. Cyber-attacks could undermine our gains in digitalization. It could undermine our social and economic well-being and consequently, our national security,” Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said.

Adoni Conrad Quenum