I.
CHALLENGES, DEVELOPMENTS WITH FOCUS
FOCUS ON THE POLICY
i.
Overview
In recent times, Ghana has experienced a number of cyber attacks including defacing of
a number of government websites by Internet hackers. These attacks have a denting
effect on the cyber image of Ghana and are indications of security weakness of our
cyber infrastructure and space. Cyber attacks have become very sophisticated and
widespread and many countries are not only focusing on protecting their critical
information infrastructure but also ensuring that there are very good incidence responds
teams in place to respond to incidents cyber security incidents.
Since the turn of the century, we have seen a rapid growth of the Internet in Ghana. The
growth has brought in its wake extensive cyber activities and subsequently attacks on
various information infrastructure as well as cyber fraud popularly known as “Sakawa”.
The biggest challenge is that the designated central point in the country where victims
of “Sakawa” can report to at the Police CID Cybercrime Unit is not visible nationally and
is under resourced. In cases when these incidences had been reported, it has taken
many years to apprehend any suspect because of the lack of expertise in tracking these
criminals using computers–based forensic skills. To make matters worse, when such
cyber criminals were apprehended and processed to court, there are, more often, not
enough legal basis to prosecute these criminal, as the legal system is inadequate to
convict and punish cyber criminals. Consequently, Ghana’s image continues dwindle in
cyberspace and is therefore considered as a cyber crime prone country.
For many years, cyber cafes have been the main source of Internet access, as many
people could not afford the high cost of personal computers and Internet access and, as
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National Cyber Security Policy & Strategy