The two institutions also agreed to collaborate to interrogate and review the existing Cyber and Information Security Directive (CISD) 2018 to align with Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038).

The decisions followed a meeting held to discuss collaborative ways to improve cybersecurity in the banking sector and implement the Cybersecurity Act of 2020.

The discussions were led by the First Deputy Governor of BoG, Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari and the Acting Director-General of CSA, Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako.

The meeting also agreed that the CSA would pay a working visit to the Financial Industry Command Security Operations Centre (FICSOC) as BoG and the CSA seek to promote cybersecurity incident response and coordination.

In 2021, the Bank established the FICSOC to provide real-time visibility into cyber threats and attacks, targeting the banking sector.

BoG will continue to be a key member of the Joint Cybersecurity Committee while the CSA would rely on the BoG for timely provision of information on cybersecurity incidents relating to the banking sector.

The Parties recognised the importance of securing information assets in the banking sector, which have been designated as Critical Information Infrastructure.

They also recognised that the CSA was a designated security sector institution and those elements of cybersecurity in the BoG’s activities were considered national security issues.

Leverage the National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October to organize programmes that would benefit the stakeholders of the BoG and the financial sector at large and develop a framework and execute a Memorandum of Understanding to guide the Parties on the major areas of collaboration.

The Bank of Ghana highlighted the proactive measures taken by the Bank before the promulgation of the Act to address cybersecurity challenges in the banking sector.