[ad_1]
1h | Natalie Bannerman
Ghana’s Parliament has passed its Cybersecurity Act 2020.
The new law aims to protect children against cybercrime, as well as the general protection of citizens against criminal acts and abuse.
Speaking during the second National Girls in ICT Day earlier this year, Ursula Owusu- Ekuful, Ghana’s Minister of Communications, said: “[The] The government is introducing a cybersecurity bill with provisions on child online protection (COP), to ensure that offenders of revenge pornography (that is, acts of distributing sexually explicit images or videos without the consent of the parties ) will be processed. The National Cybersecurity Center is currently reviewing the COP framework and this includes a comprehensive implementation roadmap aimed at protecting our children online. “
Furthermore, he said that the Ministry was planning to launch a security incident / cybercrime reporting system to provide various channels for reporting incidents. This includes online portals, dedicated phone line, SMS, and a dedicated application.
He also said that the Ghana Police Service, together with the telecommunications industry and the Internet Watch Foundation, would also ensure the proper handling of online crimes.
In the memorandum signed by Owusu- Ekuful, giving the green light to the new legislation, he said that “a successful economy depends on a safe, secure and resilient national digital ecosystem. Cybersecurity is therefore very critical for the economic development of the country and essential to the protection of the rights of people within the national digital ecosystem “.
The country has faced an increase in cyber incidents as dependence on ICTs has only accelerated. These attacks have affected various sectors of the country’s economy, including energy, telecommunications, banking and finance, causing further interruptions in the provision of essential services.
As a result, the new law also enables security and law enforcement agencies to combat cybercrime and provides specific funding sources for the Ghana Cybersecurity Authority.
[ad_2]
