Chamber of Telecommunication calls for regulatory inclusion in cyberspace

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Kenneth Ashigbey, has requested government to chart the path in Ghana’s cyberspace through the implementation of some regulatory independence.

Speaking at Ghana’s Internet Conference 2020, dubbed: “Governance of Ghana’s cyberspace”, he intimated that consumers will ultimately need to operate within a controlled system where there are legitimized rule of engagement, which in this case is the cyberspace.

“We as citizens and consumers also need to come into that space so that we would develop the governance structure. We would develop the systems that work. It really then wouldn’t be an arrowhead who is saying this has to happen but because we have put the rules in place that govern us, we know that if you’re President and you’re going wrong, the rules would apply. We need to get to the stage where actions are a based on people’s idiocentrism but based on what we have collectively agreed on.

“So we all need to own the space but definitely because with the current paradigm that we have where we are still electing people, they might have to shepherd a bit. But it has to be based on rules that we have decided and not just because they decided that this has to happen.”

As part of efforts to protect the country’s cyberspace from further crimes, some other stakeholders equally gave their two cents on the matter, reechoing the need for better regulations to govern the industry.

The Deputy Director General of the National Information Technology Agency, Kwaku Kyei Ofori, urged that Ghanaians should be cautious when carrying out some transactions in order to avert hacks and other types of cyber fraud.

“The first point of security is us, the people. We have to make sure that we are not just clicking on anything, just inserting any pen drives or just allowing anything onto our devices because the moment you do so, you are exposing yourself, and everybody else to a vulnerability that is beyond measure. So the first point of security is you the human being thinking about it first. If you’re not sure, just wait and verify before you move on. That is the cheapest way to avoid a big hit in a country like ours,” he advised.

Reports by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service indicates that the country lost more than US$200 million between 2016 and 2018 on reported cyber-crime cases.

Security experts warn that the figure is likely to increase by half due to how sophisticated cyber-crime has become.