As of August 2018, Ghana’s loss to cybercrime was as high as $97 million, Deputy Finance Minister, Kweku Kwarteng has revealed.
According to the Minister, Kweku Kwarteng Government will in 2019 launch a cyber-security fund to ensure there is enough funds to fight the growing menace.
His comment comes on the back of the roll out of the Cyber Security Guidelines for the financial sector by the Bank of Ghana.
Statistics from the cybercrime unit of the CID revealed that Ghana lost about $25milllion and $69 million 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Speaking at the Ghana Club 100 Awards, on November 23, 2018, Deputy Finance Minister Kwaku Kwarteng also stated that “with increased mobile money transactions across the country and various e-commerce platforms both nationally and internationally, it is essential to protect patrons from fraud. To curb this canker therefore, the Government of Ghana has launched and will in 2019 introduce the cyber security fund to ensure that there is enough funding for safe ecological ecosystem”.
He added “the evidence of the work that the government has done over the past 22 months, will continue to manage an economy that has recovered from government overspending and physical indiscipline, and the shocks associated with them as well as the financial sector unsoundness.”
What is Cybercrime
Cybercrime is a crime in which a computer is the object of the crime (hacking, phishing, spamming)
Cybercriminals may use computer technology to access personal information, business trade secrets or use the internet for exploitative or malicious purposes.
Criminals can also use computers for communication and document or data storage. Criminals who perform these illegal activities are often referred to as hackers.
