70% Cyber Attacks Financially Motivated – CSA Boss

The participants in a group photo

The Director General of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako has indicated that about 70 per cent of cyber attacks are financially motivated.

Dr. Antwi-Boasiako said the financial sector is particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks but was quick to add that the losses have minimised over time adding that regulatory intervention and investment in security measures have helped reduce fraud and attacks in the sector.

“The banks are reporting the incident and if you look at the statistics, the fraud status which has been produced by the Bank of Ghana, there is a reduction in losses,” he added.

The CSA boss was speaking at the opening of a 3-day training for representatives of West African cyber security agencies on the need for sector collaboration and information sharing to enhance incidence response.

The training, organised by the CSA in collaboration with the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) and the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellow University, US, brought together over 25 participants from 15 countries in the sub-region.

Dr. Antwi-Boasiako indicated that awareness gaps in cybersecurity remain a significant challenge across governments, businesses, and the public, with only 25-40% of the population having basic knowledge of online safety issues and called on stakeholders including the media to sensitise the public on cyber security issues.

He also noted that work was underway to integrate statistical collection of cyber incidents and associated losses across sectors in the country within the next two years.