Cyber-attack is one of the significant but silent killers of many Small and Medium Enterprises in Ghana. A nationwide survey conducted by the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs and its partner, SNV Ghana’s European Union-funded grEEn project, reveals that more SMEs in Ghana are gradually falling prey to cybercriminals.
The survey discloses that about 43% of Small and Medium Enterprises in Ghana have suffered Cyberattacks from 2020 to 2021. This was announced at a multi-stakeholder dialogue held in the Ashanti Region last week.
In a presentation, Cyber Security Expert Mr. Abubakar Issaka, who doubles as President of Cyberwatch Protection Ghana, indicated that SMEs who suffered at the hands of the cybercriminals lost money and some vital information on their businesses worth thousands of Cedis.
He added that the survey also unraveled that most SMEs got attacked more than once. “This means that the cybercriminals have made the Small and Medium Enterprises sector a lucrative arena for their attacks, hence the need for practical actions to avert further attacks.”
As part of his presentation, the Cyber Security Expert provided safety etiquette to be espoused when one finds themself in cyberspace. He thus urged players in the Small and Medium Enterprises sector to take Cyber-attack (Cyber Crime) issues very seriously and invest in their Information System management.
He (Mr. Abubakar) expressed his gratitude to the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs and SNV Ghana’s European Union-funded grEEn project for bringing forth such nationwide engagement, which is still going on in other parts of the country.
He appealed to stakeholders, the Cyber Security Authority, Government, NGOs, and Civil Society Organizations, among others, to support the advocacy of Cyber Security so that the challenges Cyber Crime poses to SMEs and Ghana at large can be mitigated if not eradicated. This, he says, will ensure a Cyber Safe Ghana.
Source: Ghana Web