News

A symposium on sector collaboration and informa¬tion sharing to equip Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) with the latest strategies to pre-empt cyber threats in the West African sub-region has been held in Accra from April 16 – 18, 2024.

It marked a significant milestone in fortifying defences against cyber threats across the West African sub-region.

Organised by the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) with support from the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy and the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, the symposium brought together stakeholders from 11 West African countries.

Participants from Ghana, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Nigeria, The Gambia, Liberia, Senegal, Togo, Sierra Leone among others, convened to exchange insights and strategies aimed at enhancing cyber resilience in the region.

The Director-General of the CSA, Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako, Director-General highlighted the importance of the symposium's objective of fostering international cooperation for effective incident response and capacity-building.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event, he emphasised the anticipated challenges posed by AI-powered attempts to influence voter decisions in the lead up to the 2024 polls as he noted the importance of robust strategies by the CSA to safeguard electoral integrity.

He indicated that the CSA was collaborating with major social media platforms such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) to deploy advanced detection mechanisms against cyber threats in Ghana.

Reflecting on the escalating cyber fraud, which resulted in losses of more than GH¢60 million last year, Dr. Antwi-Boasiako outlined the CSA’s regulatory initiatives and partnerships with the financial and telecommunications sectors to bolster cybersecurity measures in Ghana.

A Senior Cybersecurity Operations Researcher at Carnegie Mellon University in the USA, Dr. Angel Hueca, underscored the critical role of regional cooperation in combating cyber threats.

"Sharing expertise and resources strengthens our defences and enables proactive measures against cyber adversaries," she noted.

The symposium concluded with a unified commitment to creating a secure digital environment and ensuring transparent and secure elections across West Africa with some of the participants affirming their dedication to ongoing collaboration and capacity-building initiatives to safeguard democratic processes from cyber threats.