Dr Thomas Owusu Mensah is founder of Ghana’s Silicon Valley
• Founder of Ghana’s Silicon Valley has called for investments in cybersecurity
• He believes a roadmap must be designed to also tackle emerging cybersecurity threats
• Ghana’s internet penetration has grown from 8.4% in 2011 to 50% in 2021
Dr Thomas Owusu Mensah, founder of Ghana’s Silicon Valley, has underscored the need for a roadmap to tackle emerging threats in the cybersecurity space.
Speaking at the tenth-anniversary launch of e-Crime Bureau, a cybersecurity firm, Dr Mensah pointed that as global cyber security threats continue to emerge, it is imperative for a roadmap to be designed to tackle these challenges, particularly in Ghana.
“In a highly complex situation we need to come terms to design a new roadmap to tackle these issues. The world today is very different than it was 10 years ago, and even as recent as two years ago. Remote working during COVID-19 and the upward surge in the use of digital platforms to conduct business necessitated by the pandemic in most parts of the world has made us more vulnerable to cyber-attacks,” he explained.
“In 2011, Ghana had an internet penetration rate of 8.4 percent. This figure has however grown exponentially to 50 percent in 2021, with over 15.7 million Ghanaians connected to the internet. The impact on cybersecurity is growing just as rapidly” the Ghanaian American innovator pointed out.
He also called on both public and private institutions to make frantic efforts to invest in technology that guarantee cyber security efficiency.
“Many institutions in Ghana lack a forensic-ready IT infrastructure and systems to identify and detect incidents when they do occur. We must come to a point of appreciating the reality of the cybercrime landscape and make frantic efforts to invest in technology to guarantee the security we desire in a way to support government and security agencies address teething issues of technology confronting our society today,” Dr Mensah said.
Meanwhile, Kwame Antwi Boasiako, board member of the e-crime e-Crime Bureau also speaking at the outfit’s 10th anniversary called on institutions and government to remain cyber vigilant and adopt to new trends in tackling cyber security threat which can pose great danger to emerging economies.
The e-Crime Bureau provides cybersecurity-related services and solutions to private, public sector and international organisations. It is the first cyber security and digital forensics agency with a state-of-the-art e-Crime Lab to be established and fully operate in West Africa.