Edzorna’s Take: The Cyber Security Environment in Ghana

Cyber security is also known as Computer Security or Information Technology Security, is about the protection of computer systems and networks from information disclosure, theft or damage to their hardware, software, or electronic data, as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide, according to Wikipedia.

The field is becoming progressively significant due to the continuously expanding dependence on computer systems, the Internet, and wireless network standards such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and due to the growth of “smart” devices, like mobile phones, televisions, and other devices that operate via the internet.

Cyber security is also one of the significant challenges in the contemporary world, due to its complexity, both in terms of political usage and technology.

Other scholars or institutions like Tech-target Network defined Cyber security as the practice of defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from malicious attacks. It is also known as information technology security or electronic information security.

Cyber security is the protection of internet-connected systems such as hardware, software, and data from cyber threats. The practice is used by individuals and enterprises to protect against unauthorized access to data centers and other computerized systems.

Tech-target Network noted that a strong cyber security strategy can provide a good security posture against malicious attacks designed to access, alter, delete, destroy or extort an organization or user’s systems and sensitive data. Cyber security is also instrumental in preventing attacks that aim to disable or disrupt a system’s or device’s operations.

With a growing number of users, devices, and programs in the modern environment, combined with the increasing deluge of data-much of which is sensitive or confidential-the importance of cyber security continues to grow. The growing volume and sophistication of cyber attackers and attack techniques compound the problem even further.

It is in this spirit with a broader understanding of computer-related matters that, the Government of Ghana sponsored an Act of parliament entitled cyber security Act, 2020 (Act 1038) to establish among other things, the Cyber Security Authority; to regulate cyber security activities in Ghana;  to encourage the development of cyber security and related matters in Ghana.

The Cyber Security Authority officially started operations on October 1, 2021as the National Cyber Security Secretariat (NCSS) with the appointment of the National Cyber Security Advisor in 2017 and later transitioned into National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in 2018 as an agency under the Ministry of Communication and digitization.

The objects of the Authority are to regulate cyber security activities, manage and respond to cyber security threats and cyber security incidents; to regulate owners of critical information infrastructure in respect of cyber security activities, cyber security service providers, and practitioners in the country. It is also to promote the development of cyber security at large.

At the centre of the Act is a general penalty under section 95, which say a person who contravenes a section of this Act for which a penalty is not provided commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than two thousand, five hundred penalty units and not more than twenty thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than five years or to both and all suspects will be trialed at a The High Court captured in section 90 subsection (1).

In this regard, the Act defined “cybercrime” as use of cyberspace, Information

Technology or electronic facilities to commit a crime and “cybersecurity” in the Act means the state in which a computer or computer system is protected from unauthorized access or attack for the purpose of ensuring that.

The Act in section 62 provides Protection of Children Online against indecent images or photographs of a child.

According to the Act, a person who contravenes subsection (1) of section 62 commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than two thousand five hundred penalty units and not more than five thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than ten years or to both.

Section 62 (1) unambiguously said a person shall not (a) take or permit to be taken an indecent image or photograph of a child; or produce or procure an indecent image or photograph of a child for the purpose of the publication of the indecent image or photograph through a computer system.

Subsection 1 paragraph (c) also prohibits publishing, streaming, including live stream, an indecent image or photograph of a child through a computer or an electronic device; or possess an indecent image or photograph of a child in a computer system or on a computer or electronic record storage medium.

Subsection (4) of this section, says “indecent image or photograph” includes a material image, visual recording, video, drawing, or text that depicts a child engaged in sexually explicit or suggestive conduct or a person who appears to be a child engaged in sexually explicit or suggestive conduct; images representing a child engaged in sexually explicit or suggestive conduct; sexually explicit images of children. It also involved any written material, visual representation, or audio recording that advocates or counsels sexual activity with children that would be an offence under the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) or any other relevant enactment;

On Cyberstalking of a child under 65 subsection (2) a person is deemed to have contravened subsection (1) to commit an offence liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than fifteen years because subsection (1) under section 65 mentions that a person shall not use a computer online service, an internet service, or a local internet bulletin board service or any other electronic device to compile, transmit, publish, reproduce, buy, sell, receive, exchange, or disseminate the name, telephone number, electronic mail address, residence address, picture, physical description, characteristics, or any other identifying information on a child in furtherance of an effort to arrange a meeting with the child for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse, sexually explicit conduct, or unlawful sexual activity.

Non-consensual sharing of the intimate image under section  67  (1) says a person shall not, with intent to, cause serious emotional distress, intentionally distribute or intentionally cause another person to distribute the intimate image or prohibited visual recording of another identifiable person without the consent of the person depicted in the intimate image and in respect of which, there was a reasonable expectation of privacy both at the time of the creation of the image or visual recording and at the time the offence was committed.

The Act says a person who contravenes the above subsection commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than three years. For the purpose of this section, subsection (3) particular,  “serious emotional distress” includes any intentional conduct that results in mental reactions such as fright, nervousness, grief, anxiety, worry, mortification, shock, humiliation, and indignity, as well as physical pain.

In line with its mandatory capacity building, and as part of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month, 2021, The Authority in conjunction with The Ministry of Communication and Digitization has organized a day sensitization workshop for the Ghana Journalists Association Members on the new Cyber Security Act, 2020 (Act 1038) in Accra, to educate media practitioners on the general principles of the Act and to also make the simplify some of the key sections and subsections for purposes of awareness creation.

The workshop has brought together about 50 Journalists from different media houses to be schooled on The Act its implications and the role of the media in its implementation.

By Edzorna Francis Mensah