The recent internet outage exposed Ghana’s security vulnerabilities and lack of preparedness. For days, many businesses were disrupted, and the economy stood still. Critically, the incident shows Ghana’s cyber security fragility and serious national security lapses.
Speaking on the issue, Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram Constituency, Honourable Sam George stated that, “It’s unfortunate but we have to say that the chickens have come home to roost.”
“We have been talking about the poor regulatory framework and a lack of focus on the main critical national information infrastructure and people had said we were doing politics with it. People at the regulator, and people at the Ministry thought that we were doing politics. This has exposed our lack of preparedness as a country.”
Honourable Sam George
At a certain point, even social life was impacted. Simple calls and text messages were not going through. People could not communicate with their friends and loved ones.
Hostile Environment
In an increasingly hostile environment filled with terrorism, espionage, economic sabotage, rivalry, and geopolitical competition among global powers, Where does that leave Ghana?
As a key player in the West Africa subregion and Africa, Ghana is one of a few countries in the world whose global influence outmatches its size and population. Moreover, Ghana’s unblemished democratic credential makes it the target of competing global powers.
Its enviable peace and political stability also make it attractive to terrorist attacks. In recent times, terrorist groups in the Sahel are inching closer to the coastal states and have potentially set their eyes on Ghana among others.
Moreover, Togo and Benin have experienced some attacks as part of these extremist expansions in the subregion. As we have witnessed, it won’t require a bomb or any lethal weapon to hurt the country. With a simple hack or sophisticated cyber-attack, the country’s economy and social life could be grounded, and it shows even that the country’s security could be compromised.
Democracy and Election Interference
Considering the importance of Ghana as a beacon of democracy in Africa, the country’s; stability and credibility of her elections matter to Africa and the world. The geopolitical competition and Rivalry between the America-led Western group of democratic states and the Sino-Russian alliance of a few authoritarian states vying for influence.
This has led to election interference, and even in America with all its technology, the 2016 election won by Trump was tainted with allegations of Russian interference. This disruption is a wake-up call for the Electoral Commission and stakeholders to develop contingency that safeguards our elections thus reflecting the people’s will.
Mensah Thompson of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) added his voice to the conversation and was concerned about the integrity of the electoral process.
“From a security point of view, we cannot continue to rely on these third-party network operators. The state must invest in its digital infrastructure for the security of communication, total independence, and access. It is non-negotiable so that one day we do not wake up to realize that we will be disconnected for not allowing LGBTQ+ activities.”
Mensah Thompson
National Security and Territorial Integrity
Looking at how vulnerable Ghana is to digital snags and disruptions, it is critical to appraise their impact on her national security and territorial integrity. Issues of defense and border security have become increasingly digital.
As part of Ghana’s effort to match the pace and transformation, her military, customs, and sister security agencies have adopted the use of drones and other surveillance tools to keep her borders and people safe from terrorist groups and any other would-be conventional threat.
Furthermore, it is important to have a dedicated and secure infrastructure that is impregnable to sabotage and espionage, otherwise national security could be compromised. Just like states, terrorist groups now invest in digital technology to penetrate and compromise the security of states.
Ghana is economically distressed as it stands, nonetheless, the government must massively invest in both civilian and military cyber infrastructure to safeguard its people and economy. However, to minimize cost, the government can prioritize dual-use technology over single-use platforms if they are suitable and available at a reasonable cost.
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