As part of activities earmarked to celebrate the Cyber Security Awareness Creation Month in October, each member of the Joint Cyber Security Committee (JCC) selected a day in the month of October to sensitise their employees on emerging trends in Cybercrime and Cyber Security on the theme, “Promoting a Culture of Digital Safety”.
The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) as a member of the JCC took its turn on 20th October, 2023 at the EOCO Head Office in Accra.
Present to mark the day were top Management of EOCO, high ranking officials from the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), Heads of Units and Officers of EOCO.
The Director of Administration, PSO Edward Cudjoe in his remarks expressed his excitement for the collaborative effort because it was since consistent with Strategic Priority 3 of EOCO’s new 5-year Strategic plan.
He noted that even though cyber-crime and issues of cybersecurity are issues that EOCO deals with on a daily basis, it is important that officers review and update their notes in order to be abreast with emerging crime trends.
In the speech of the Director General of the CSA which was read by Mr Alex Oppong, the Acting Director of Capacity Building and Awareness, the Director General highlighted EOCO’s pivotal role in Ghana’s cybersecurity ecosystem.
He also commended EOCO’s efforts at ensuring a safe cyber space in Ghana by fighting organised criminal groups operating online.
He cited EOCO’s collaboration with the CSA and Bank of Ghana (BOG) which led to the arrest of four hundred and twenty-two (422) persons engaged in the operation of unlicensed Digital Lending Apps.
The Deputy Executive Director (Operations) of EOCO, Bashiru Dapilah Esq. noted that by having a simple tool like a smart phone and access to the internet, cyber criminals can gain access to a target.
He added that it is therefore important to ensure a safe cyber space by staying informed on new trends and share new information on measures that keep us safe online.
In a presentation, the Head of the Public Affairs Unit of EOCO, SO Faustina Lartey, highlighted various safety measures to deploy in order to stay digitally secure and the dangers associated with clicking malicious links while on the internet.
She further advised the gathering to stay clear of public Wi-Fi, public charging ports and the use of auto log-ins for apps on their digital devices since this exposes them to cyber-attacks.
She further stressed that a false sense of urgency or pressure, accompanying a request for personal information, unsolicited contact by strangers, offers which are for “too good to be true” deals, unusual requests and suspicious links are some of the social engineering cues that people must look out for in order not to fall prey to the tricks of criminals.
About 122 persons made up of both officers and guests benefited from the programme which was also streamed via Zoom to the regional offices of EOCO.
The Joint Cybersecurity Committee consisting of 18 member institutions, was inaugurated in July 2022 to facilitate prompt response to and the resolution of incidents which impact on the security of digital applications, services and infrastructure as Ghana increasingly digitises operations across all socio-economic activities.
Credit: Faustina Lartey
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