Little attention given Cyber Security issues dangerous for fight against terrorism - TaTU Lecturer

A Senior Lecturer at the Tamale Technical University (TaTU), Dr Arnold Mashud has said that Ghana’s fight against terrorism is threatened by the little attention given to the activities of cyber security attacks in the country.

He said the government’s ‘See Something, Say Something’ Campaign was largely focused on encouraging citizens to report physical borders, with little or no focus on the digital space.

Dr Mashud said this was worrying and dangerous because violent extremists were now recruiting and radicalizing unsuspecting youth online, hence the need for the campaign to include how people can be able to identify and report such threats.

He identified other lapses such as the recruitment of Ambassadors for the campaigns and the lack of broader consultation of key stakeholders as some of the challenges of the campaign.

"The See Something, Say Something is overly concentrative on physical borders, the dynamics have changed. No attention on digital space, all Ambassadors are Accra-based, and no ambassadors reside at border towns, despite ongoing regional campaigns. No fair representation of traditional authorities and religious leaders, no fair representation of researchers and educational institutions, communication channel resources and prank calls are some of the challenges identified."

The Computer Science Lecturer was speaking to GhanaWeb in Tamale on Friday after delivering a speech on Cybercrime at the launch of his ‘The Digital Colonialism’ book.

Dr Mashud emphasized the need for the country to pay attention to, and investigate all online job vacancies, travelling opportunities and sponsorships as extremist groups use such platforms for their recruitment.

"There's the need for us to increase awareness among individuals and communities, engage and collaborate with educational institutions, community leaders, CSOs, individuals, youth groups, etc.

We need to be investigating job advertisements, travelling opportunities and sponsorships because these guys use such platforms to recruit people online for their activities," he said.

He also urged the government to create more job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youth, adding that “this would discourage them from looking for unrealistic opportunities online.”

The government launched the 'See Something, Say Something' campaign to tackle the growing threats of terrorism in the country.

Ghana’s Northern Frontiers are said to be the most vulnerable as extremist groups have invaded Burkina Faso, Ghana's Northern neighbours.

Experts say that the activities of terrorist groups in Burkina Faso are now less than a kilometre to Ghana's Northern frontiers and they are making moves to advance into the country.

However, the government has assured that it was working to ensure the country was safe from the advances of the terrorist groups.