Episode #71
(Season 4;
Ep.6):
Africa & (Cyber-)
Crime (1): Time with E-Crime Bureau
We continue Season 4 STILL on the theme of “making
money for Africa”.
We started the
Season with the Creative Economy, and concluded that Film, more than any other cog in the Creative Economy wheel, was
probably the most dominant within that Economy. In episode 2, we appreciated
how, if managed properly, Sports could become the biggest employer in Ghana,
the sub region, and the Continent.
In episode 3,
we started to unpack customer service, concluding that, Ghana can achieve an
“insanely customer-centric culture” as seen in the West, but it takes exposure
and training of frontline staff to do that.
In episode 4,
we concluded that East Africa continues to rise, while last weeks’ episode
(episode 5) helped demystify Africa’s agriculture under the AU’s flagship programme
of CAADP, concluding that issues around Agribusiness and nutrition will
dominate discussions around Agriculture after the 12th CAADP
Partnership Platform meeting that was held in Accra last week.
This week, we
are coincidentally piggy-backing on the *UNCTAD E-Commerce week* that will take
place from 18-22 April. We want to initiate a series of discussions examining
Ghana’s response to cyber-crime and e-commerce.
Technology has
arguably enabled Africa to leapfrog many countries – and the e-commerce sector
is no different.
UNCTAD has been
at the forefront assisting the ECOWAS region help develop its capacities since
2014. The first meeting in February that year targeted legislators from eight
francophone West African countries to an UNCTAD-ECOWAS seminar in Dakar,
Senegal, to deliberate over ways to harmonize legislation on electronic
transactions; computer security and personal data protection.
A similar
seminar was organized in March 2014 for Anglophone West African countries in
Ghana, where one of the key recommendations included cyber law awareness
campaigns; capacity-building for policymakers; legislators; police; judiciary
and prosecutors; the strengthening of enforcement agencies and regional
cooperation between them.
The
UNCTAD-ECOWAS project aims to support the implementation at the national level
of the existing legal frameworks on e-transactions; cybercrime; and personal
data protection. Additionally, it addresses other important areas such as
consumer protection; intellectual property rights; online content and taxation.
For this
discussion, *it is a given that online transactions continue to remain a source
of significant importance to governments’ enterprises*; and consumers in most
parts of the world.
While it
remains clear how greater reliance on e-commerce creates significant
opportunities for citizens and businesses, UNCTAD believes “a lack of security
and trust remains a critical barrier to such transactions.” Online fraud and
data breaches continue to be a source of concern for both parties, begging for “adequate
legal and regulatory responses at national and international levels.”
It is precisely
for this reason that we are having our maiden conversation with E-crime Bureau.
Founded in
2011, e-crime Bureau is the first cyber-security and digital forensics firm
with state-of-the-art e-Crime lab to be established and fully-operate in West
Africa. It offers consultancy services; technology support and training to
clients in the sub-region.
Our conversation
with E-Crime is for them to help unpack for us how far Ghana has come as far as
e-commerce; and cyber-crime is concerned.
What has Ghana
and the sub-region done to respond to awareness-raising about cyber-crime,
especially in the face of increasing attacks globally? With counter-terrorism
measures on the mind of Western governments (to the extent that Europol has
established an Internet Referral Unit), how is the sub-region responding to
this existential threat adequately and correspondingly?
Join us if
you can at 2.05pm on 20 April, 2016.
Call us on the following numbers
+233(0)289.000.931
Guiding
questions
- How
serious is Ghana about cyber-crime & forensics?
- What
does the (policy) landscape of cyber-crime in Ghana & the ECOWAS
sub-region look like?
- Is
Ghana ready & able to respond to digital terrorists in the way EUROPOL
has responded with its Internet Referral Unit?
- What’s
the future of Africa’s law enforcement capabilities?
Guests in the studio:
ØAlbert Antwi-Boasiako, Founder & Principal Consultant E-Crime
Bureau
***********************
*more details will be available soon on www.africainfocusradioshow.org ; africainfocusshow.blogspot.com.
*more details will be available soon on www.africainfocusradioshow.org ; africainfocusshow.blogspot.com.
*Follow
the conversations on #AfricainFocus on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/africainfocus14.
Tweet
Emmanuel ahead of time on www.twitter.com/ekbensah,
using #africainfocus.
Call Radio
XYZ93.1FM on 0289.000.931 / 0289.931.000.
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