BoG to embrace Cyber Solutions to resolve increasing risk of cyber crime

The First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana revealed at a three-day sensitization programme organized by the Bank of Ghana at Peduase.

BoG to embrace Cyber Solutions to resolve increasing risk of cyber crime
Bank of Ghana

The First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Ms Elsie Addo Awadzi has disclosed that all banks would appoint a cyber and information security officer (CISO) who would have direct access to senior management and set up a security sub-committee at the board level.

This is as part of BoG’s directive to seek for solutions to the increasing risk of cyber crime on the financial sector.

"The fraudsters are getting more sophisticated with the advancement in technology and we need to develop the necessary systems and cultures throughout the sector to deal with this risk," she revealed at a three-day sensitization programme organized by the Bank of Ghana at Peduase, near Aburi in the Eastern Region at the opening session of a workshop for experts and law enforcement agencies.

The programme structured by the BoG was in collaboration with the Committee for Cooperation between Law Enforcement and Banking Community (COCLAB) with representatives from the banking sector, crime watch institutions, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), National Communications Authority (NCA), the Judicial Service, Ghana Police Service, National Security and policy makers.

 

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Ms Awadzi disclosed that a research done in November 2016 by the African Union Commission, in partnership with Symantec, found that Ghana was among the top 10 most attacked countries in Africa, while on October 19, 2019, the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service reported that Ghana lost over $200 million between 2016 and 2019 to cyber crime.

Therefore, to deal with the risk, the deputy governor said there was the need to nurture talents capable of addressing cyber security threats through prompt detection of suspected cases of cyber fraud, investigation, reporting of cases, prosecution of perpetrators and putting in place measures to prevent the practice.

She urged the various units of financial institutions such as the Information and communications technology (ICT), Operations, Security, Credit control, anti-money laundering, judicial and fraud investigations departments, to come together and fight cyber crime in their institutions.