Adopt cybersecurity best practices to safeguard data - Chief of Defence Staff advises GAF

The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Vice Admiral Seth Amoama, has admonished personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to incorporate cybersecurity best practices into their everyday lives and refrain from unprofessional acts that seek to tarnish the image of the force while they are online.

Although there had been an improvement in their activities on social media, especially on Facebook and TikTok, he said there was more to be done. 

He, therefore, urged all ranks to adhere strictly to the extracts of the communications and information systems policy and also enrich their knowledge in cybersecurity to ensure that GAF data was safe from attacks from both internal and external bad actors. 

The CDS said that during the launch of this year’s GAF Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which took place at the Burma Camp yesterday (Sept. 29), on the theme: “Promoting a Culture of Digital Safety”.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Worldwide, particularly in Europe and the United States of America (USA), the month of October is observed as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. 

Ghana has joined the list of growing countries that have also adopted this commemoration of the month-long event, which seeks to intensify the capacity building and awareness creation efforts on cybersecurity and cybercrime and educate citizens on the importance of good cyber hygiene and cyber best practices.

This year’s event will include workshops, lectures, demonstrations and training sessions on the essentials of cybersecurity and the implications of the use of social media by all ranks within the GAF.

Operations 

Vice Admiral Amoama noted that the domain of cyberspace operations had come to add up to the traditional domains of land, sea, air and space. 

He was, therefore, not surprised that terrorists and violent extremist groups were using the internet as platforms to support their activities. 

As a result, he said cybersecurity had become a vital part of the operational effectiveness of militaries in the world while acknowledging the fact that the culture of digital safety in daily routines could not be neglected.

“We have a responsibility to protect our data, database, networks, communications infrastructure and other assets of the GAF. 

“As we take steps to protect our critical information infrastructure, we want to assure all that efforts are being made for every member of the GAF to understand the cyber threats, vulnerabilities and their impact on mission readiness,” Vice Admiral Amoama said.

Cyber threats 

The Director General of the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA), Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, also noted that the emergence of low-cost computing devices and fast access to the Internet had brought convenience to everyday life but had also exposed people to the dangers of cyber threats and malicious actors ready to exploit network vulnerabilities to compromise their integrity and confidentiality. 

Such dangers, he said, endangered vital sectors of the country such as energy, transportation and communication.

He, therefore, said there was a vested interest for the military to also partner with other defence agencies, the private sector and international partners to enable a comprehensive cybersecurity measure to mitigate the possible impact of cyber attacks in the country. 

He, therefore, said the NCA was committed to collaborating with the GAF to set up the Military Sector Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) to coordinate cybersecurity incidents within the sector.