Accreditation of cybersecurity professionals will information improvement of occupation in Ghana
Director-Normal of the Cyber Safety Authority (CSA), Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako
“The accreditation of Cybersecurity Professionals (CPs) will information additional improvement of the cybersecurity occupation in Ghana and can make it attainable to create the mandatory incentives to develop the occupation”, the Director-Normal of the Cyber Safety Authority (CSA), Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako stated this when he delivered a keynote speech on the 2023 CISO Summit in Accra on March 22, 2023.
In line with Dr. Antwi-Boasiako, the Cyber Safety Authority will create a Registry of accredited CPs and this database might be accessible to the general public through the CSA’s web site as a part of the accreditation course of.
This, he stated, will present visibility and direct credibility to accredited CPs.
He indicated that accredited CPs may be chosen by the Authority as Unbiased Assessors to be a part of the CSA’s crew to conduct regulatory assessments and audits.
“We do hope that, additionally with the accreditation, we will present regulatory pointers on charges and prices by CPs, much like what the Bar Affiliation does to information prices by attorneys. The accreditation of CPs may also contribute to the institution and the operations of the Business Discussion board which is to be established below Part 81 of Act 1038. The Authority will interact additional with the trade to determine and promote related practices which can inure to the good thing about accredited CPs”, he added.
Dr. Antwi-Boasiako applauded trade our bodies like ISACA and (ISC)² and urged them to proceed to play a major position in selling cybersecurity abilities improvement and standardization.
He nevertheless acknowledged that the cybersecurity trade, like all severe occupation, must be regulated.
“There may be the necessity on the nationwide degree, to manage people, no matter which trade physique they belong to, he We entreat all, together with Chief Data Safety Officers (CISOs) right here to undergo the accreditation course of.”
The licensing of Cybersecurity Service Suppliers (CSPs) and accreditation of Cybersecurity Institutions and Cybersecurity Professionals is one other regulatory focus of the CSA.
The necessity to develop the trade, the necessities to undertake greatest practices and requirements and nationwide safety issues, are driving such regulatory actions.
It’s the expectation of the Authority that solely individuals and establishments tha are demonstrably certified and are in good standing will undertake essential providers.
Past the technical {and professional} competency, the match for objective assessments in cybersecurity additionally embody skilled integrity and optimistic background info.
The Authority has thus activated the method of licensing and accrediting these entities and personnel and the graduation date was March 1, 2023 and can run until September thirtieth for current establishments and professionals.
After September thirtieth, it will likely be unlawful to supply cybersecurity providers in Ghana with no license, pursuant to Part 49 (1).
Sadly, as soon as the accreditation timeframe elapses and with out accreditation by the Authority, cybersecurity professionals will be unable to supply their providers once more – providers for a reward or cost because the legislation says – to designated Crucial Data Infrastructure (CII) House owners and public sector establishments.
That is in line with greatest practices all around the world.
The CSA is at present implementing a lot of regulatory actions together with the Safety of Crucial Data Infrastructures, Accreditation of Sectoral CERTS, Licensing of Cybersecurity Service Suppliers, Accreditation of Cybersecurity Institutions, and Accreditation of Cybersecurity Professionals.
Cybercrime/Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Factors of Contact (PoC) which was launched in October 2019 by the Authority to supply public with a number of avenues and channels for reporting cyber-related incidents, has thus far acquired 37,468 contacts from October 2020 until date, with about 33,841 contacts being Direct Advisories, given to the general public.
In accordance with Part 44 of the Cybersecurity Act 2020 (Act 1038), Sectoral Laptop Emergency Response Groups (CERTs) are being established to facilitate efficient cybersecurity incident coordination and response in all of the essential sectors of Ghana’s financial system.
At the moment, most firms don’t report such incidents. Consequently, it is nearly not possible to know what number of cyberattacks there are, and what type they take.
It’s not acceptable for a rustic like Ghana to permit such practices to go on.
In line with the Director-Normal of the CSA, “if we will’t detect and measure what we’re confronted with on day by day foundation, then we actually can’t handle it. The Authority is due to this fact, as a part of its mandate going to implement Part 47 of Act 1038 as a part of our CERT rules”.
The CISO summit was a platform to have a mutually useful dialog to considerably contribute to enhancing cybersecurity improvement in Ghana.
It introduced collectively Senior Managers, IT consultants, and Data Safety Officers are assembled to debate the present developments within the trade and the way they impression on the occupation.
