Cyber Security Challenges in Ghana and How to Address Them
Chapter One
AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
AIMS OF THE STUDY
This study aims to evaluate, the issue of cyber security and address the concerns that arise from this subject. At the end of the project, we want to have gathered enough information to address cybercrime as we experience it in the Ghanaian technology sphere.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study include;
- Assessment of how business owners perceive the concept of cyber security.
- Evaluate the methods and the approaches where the concerns have been addressed to see where they can be applied in the Ghanaian market.
- To determine the readiness of the Ghanaian ICT space in implementing these measures as well as the legislation that may arise from the implementation of the measures.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
OVERVIEW OF CYBER SECURITY
Computer security, cybersecurity, or information technology security (computer security) is the protection of computer systems and networks against information disclosure, theft, or damage to hardware, their software or data electronics, as well as against disruption or misdirection of the services they provide. (Schatz et al., 2017)
This area has become important due to the growing reliance on computer systems, the Internet and wireless networking standards such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and due to the growth of “smart” devices, including smart phones, TVs, and various devices that make up the Internet of Things (IoT). Cybersecurity is also one of the major challenges of the contemporary world, due to the complexity of information systems, both for political and technological purposes. Its main purpose is to ensure the reliability, integrity, and security of system data. (Kianpour et al., 2021). The scope of cyber security activities involves the protection of information and systems against major cyber threats. These threats take many forms. Keeping up with cybersecurity strategy and operations can therefore be challenging, especially in government and corporate networks, where in their most innovative form cyber threats often target the secret, political and military assets of a country or its people. Some of the common threats are:
- Cyber terrorism: This is the creative use of information technology by terrorist groups to advance their political agenda. It takes the form of attacks on networks, computer systems, and telecommunications infrastructure.
- Cyberwar: This involves countries using information technology to traverse another country’s network to cause harm. In the United States and many others living in a society, cyber warfare has been recognized as the fifth field of warfare. Cyberwar attacks are mostly carried out by hackers who are well trained in the quality use of computer network details and operate with the support and backing of nations. Instead of shutting down a target’s primary networks, a cyberwarfare attack can create a situation in which networks compromise valuable data, degrade communications, weaken infrastructure services such as transportation and health services or disrupt commerce.
- Cyber espionage: This is the practice of using information technology to obtain confidential information without the permission of its owner or holder.
It is most used to gain strategic, economic and military advantage and is conducted using hacking and malware techniques.
HISTORY OF CYBER SECURITY.
Since the advent of the Internet and with the digital transformation initiated in recent years, the concept of cybersecurity has become a familiar topic in both our professional and personal lives. Cybersecurity and cyberattacks have been present during 50 years of technological change. During the 1970s and 1980s, computer security was mostly confined to academia until the design of the Internet, where, with the increase in connectivity, computer viruses and network intrusions began to emerge. After the spread of the virus in the 1990s, the 2000s marked the institutionalization of cyber threats and cybersecurity. The April 1967 session, organized by Willis Ware at the General Computer Spring Conference, and the subsequent publication of the Ware Report, were pivotal moments in the history of computer security (Misa, 2016). Ware’s work straddles material, cultural, political, and social concerns. (Misa, 2016). A 1977 NIST publication presented the “CIA trilogy” of confidentiality, integrity, and availability as a clear and simple way to describe key security objectives. (Irwin, 2018) Although still relevant, more complex frameworks have been proposed. (Perin, 2008)
However, in the 1970s and 1980s, there were no serious computer threats because computers and the Internet were still in development and security threats could be easily identified. Typically, threats come from malicious insiders who have gained unauthorized access to sensitive documents and files. Although malware and network vulnerabilities existed in the early years, they were not used for profit. During the second half of the 1970s, established computer companies such as IBM began offering commercial access control systems and computer security software products. (Yost, 2015)
It all started with Creeper in 1971. Creeper was an experimental computer program written by Bob Thomas of BBN. It is considered the first computer worm. In 1972, the first anti-virus software was created, named Reaper. It was created by Ray Tomlinson to get around ARPANET and get rid of Creeper worms. 1987 was the birth year of commercial malware testing anti-virus software, although there were competitors that allowed claims to the creators of the first anti-virus programs to be product and Andreas Lüning and Kai Figge released their first product antivirus for the Atari ST – which also saw the release of the Ultimate Virus Killer in 1987 and the Three Czechoslovakians to create the first new version of the NOD antivirus in the same year and in the US, famous John McAfee founded McAfee and released VirusScan software.
In the early 2000s criminal organizations started to heavily fund professional cyberattacks and governments began to clamp down on the criminality of hackings, giving more serious sentences to those convicted hackers and Information security continues to advance as the internet grows as well but unfortunately so having the viruses.
The cybersecurity industries are continuing to grow. The most global cybersecurity market size is forecast to grow to $345.4bn by 2026 according to Statista. Ransomware is one of the most common threats to any organization of data security and is forecast to continue to increase applications.
Cyber-attacks usually confirm to a general multistep process are as the first step of this process is surveillance, then is the collection of the information about specified targeted networks, as Examples- are ping scan and port scans to find out how hosts exist and how services are provided by each host. The second step is the remote exploitation of vulnerabilities associated with the services that were identified during the first step. When it is successful, this gives an attacker access across the system and the time between each of the phases of a multi-step attack may be in just seconds, or it may be days or even months.
Understanding the history of cybersecurity says an overview of how cybersecurity has evolved from once being simple experiments. Current statistics indicate that cybersecurity prevalence will continue growing. The Cybercriminals are experts in using new incidents strategies for executing the stealth stock attacks by leveraging emerging technologies like AI-artificial intelligence, blockchain, and machine learning (ML).
The Indian lawmakers hurriedly passed an amendment to the IT Act of 2000 with debate or opposition from civil society. The Amended Acts (under sections 66-69) listed a host of actions that considered computer-based cybercrimes, charge to perform various cyber security functions, such as:
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
TYPE OF RESEARCH
This study makes use of the descriptive survey method. This design was selected for the study to elicit a reasonable response rate from the participants. This will help the researcher in gathering sufficient data to be coded and quantitatively analyzed. Relationships were measured to determine the degree of association between the variables of interest (Howell, 2007; McMillan & Schumacher, 2006; Osuala, 2005).
The nature of the research involves a mixture of both the quantitative and the qualitative research.
Quantitative research is expressed in numbers and graphs. It is used to test or confirm theories and assumptions. This type of research can be used to establish generalizable facts about a topic which in this case is a study of the impact of computer science on multimedia.
Common quantitative methods include experiments, observations recorded as numbers, and surveys with closed-ended questions.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE SAMPLE.
In this this chapter, results of data were discussed and interpreted. The number of questionnaires that were administered was 120. A total of 74 questionnaires were properly filled and returned. This represented an overall successful response rate of 62%. According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), as cited in Murithi, Tiberious, Mwania and Mwinzi (2016), a response rate of more than 50% is adequate for analysis. In essence, return rates of 50% are acceptable to analyze and publish.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY OF RESEARCH FINDINGS.
From the results obtained from the survey, it showed that majority of stakeholders have an optimistic and favorable view to the level of readiness that Ghana must implement global cybersecurity solutions. It also gathered that in majority of the stakeholders’ opinion, most were not satisfied with the level of awareness in the population on how to prevent cybercrime.
STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE THE SUBJECT MATTER
In order to improve the subject matter, there is a need to broaden the scope of study in order to gauge with more accuracy the opinion of the public and the stakeholders involved in the use of the cyber security methods.
CONCLUSION
This study examined the possible methods of addressing cyber security challenges in Ghana and responses were generated from select institutions in Ghana. Two hypotheses were tested.
- Ghana is ready to implement robust approaches to cyber security nationwide
- What is the optimal way to maintain healthy cyberspace in Ghana
The findings show that
- A significant majorityof people welcome a full implementation of cyber security methods over the tech companies.
- There is about a 76 percent confidence rate.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND (DETAILED) IMPLEMENTATION OUTLINE.
At the end of this study, the following are recommended:
- More training in form of orientation should be given to people who intend to interact with vital cyber security tools
- There should be more attention given to laws around cyber security in Ghana
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES.
For further studies, I would recommend a larger scope of the number of respondents and across states to reflect a more accurate representation of opinions regarding the use of robust cyber security methods in technology and data based companies in Ghana.
REFERENCES
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