ECG meter glitch must serve as a wakeup call to cybersecurity – Energy Minister
The Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has asked the Boards and Managements of the agencies in the Energy sector to tighten the security of the cyberspaces of their areas of operations.
At a consultative meeting on the establishment of a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) for the energy sector at the NPA conference room yesterday under the auspices of the Cyber Security Authority, Dr. Prempeh said the security of the cyber space, like other areas must not be compromised.
This, Dr. Prempeh said was critical in an era where the world revolves around information technology, deployed as a tool for development and also, a tool for the perpetration of crimes of various forms.
The consultative meeting, Dr. Prempeh said was scheduled way ahead of the recent cyber security challenges encountered by the Electricity Company of Ghana which affected the entire electricity vending architecture across parts of the country.
This, he said is because of the important nature of the subject matter of cyber security.
The Minister said the ECG challenge should be a wake-up call to all agencies not only to beef up their cyber protection efforts but also collaborate effectively with the Cyber Security Authority for effective surveillance.
The Manhyia South MP further indicated the economic challenges that the failure to protect the Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) of the energy sector that the nation would be plunged into.
“As sector Minister, I very much recognize the need for an effective cybersecurity control in the energy sector. This will help us quickly detect and prevent potential cyber incidents and minimize their impacts, even when they occur,” he said.
The Minister further reminded the gathering that Ghana’s energy sector infrastructure within the global energy sector context is not insulated from cyber-attacks, which therefore means that, there must be deliberate efforts at combating such crimes, as the incapacitation and destruction of these infrastructure would have a devastating impact on our national economy.
Dr. Prempeh asked the agencies to collaborate seamlessly with the Cyber Security Authority to forestall future security lapses.
On his part Director General of the CSA, Dr. Albert Antwi Boasiako reiterated the need for the agencies to co-operate with the Authority to avoid negative future occurrences.
