Ghana has witnessed lately an upsurge in cyber crimes arising from the use of the Internet to perpetrate unimaginable economic crimes.
"It is therefore clear that if we do not resolutely combat this canker, then we face the risk of also becoming the center of cyber crimes, which I presume all of us gathered here as stakeholders, will resist with all our might".
He used the opportunity to pay a glowing tribute to the security agencies for the vigilance and monitoring of the activities of these criminals and their accomplices, who have turned our cyber cafés into crime laboratories to perpetrate their anti-social acts.
He said while these concerns are also being raised as part of the internet governance consultations at the global level to include the incidence of spam (unsolicited junk mail posted into our emails), viruses, issues of privacy and data protection, and also digital identity, Ghana has began policy deliberations and legal proposals to allow a greater degree of public trust.
The theme adopted for the day was "promoting global cyber security". The term 'cyber security' refers to the areas of security of network information systems and this involves the security of electronic interchanges and the underlying telecommunications infrastructure.
He said the lack of adequate security in Internet networks is very serious and becoming worse.
The minister noted that without proper security, the Internet may become unusable in a few years and as mobile phones are more and more replicating the functionality of personal computers, mobile networks are increasingly susceptible to malicious attack.
It is in this regard that he called on network operators and Internet service providers (ISPS) in the country to play their parts to combat cyber attacks through best practices and vigilance.
"As we cannot rely solely on manufacturers to prevent cyber attacks, operators must make contingency plans, monitor network activities and implement early warning mechanisms.
"Above all, there is the need to increase awareness and educate stakeholders.
Today, security needs to be everyone's business as computing and networking has become important part of our lives. There needs to be a common language for talking about legal, technical, policy and standard issues surrounding cyber security to converge meaningfully."
On March 27, 2006, the general assembly adopted a resolution A/RES/60/252 proclaiming 17th May as the annual world information society day. This day will help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the internet and the other ICTs can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.
The United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, in a speech read on his behalf by the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator, Mr. Daouda Toure, said the World Summit on the information society recognized the importance of building confidence and trust in the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT). This, he said, is reflected in this year's theme.
He said in an increasingly interconnected and networked world, it has become critically important to safeguard vital systems and infrastructures against attacks by cyber criminals, while instilling confidence in online transactions in order to promote trade, commerce, banking, telemedicine, e-government and a host others of e-applications.
"As depends on the security practices of each and every networked country, business and citizen, we need to develop a global culture of cyber security".
He urged all states and stakeholders to help increase global awareness of cyber security and to develop an international network of initiatives and ICT-based counter measures to enhance security and build trust in the use of information and communication technologies.
Major JRK Tandoh (Rtd.), who has been nominated for the position of the deputy General Secretary of the International Communication Union (ITU), traced the history of ITU to 141 years ago and said it has come a long way, but Africa needs to close the digital divide between the advanced countries and the developing ones.
He said it is the aim of the Union to prepare the world for the global information society of the future.
He then read the message from the Secretary General of the ITU, Mr. Yoshio Utsumi.
ICT is an increasingly powerful tool that enables governments to take advantage of the benefits of globalizations, promote political accountability, improve the delivery of basic services and enhance local development opportunities.
Mr. Daouda Toure said the UN core strategy to support tracking progress toward the MDGs calls for UN country teams to provide support to national capacity for data collection, analysis and application.
Autor/Author: Joseph Coomson
Quelle/Source: AllAfrica, 18.05.2006
