The Deputy Minister for the Interior, Hon. Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, says Ghana’s digital space has become part of the country’s national security environment, warning that the nature of crime is rapidly changing.

“National security is economic security. Criminals no longer need to be physically present where their victims are. A fraudster can sit in one location and target victims across regions, or even across national borders,” he said.

Speaking at the launch of the 2026 National Cybersecurity Awareness Month at the University of Ghana, Legon, Hon. Terlabi said personal information can be stolen, accounts compromised, fraudulent transactions initiated and digital identities manipulated by criminal networks exploiting weaknesses across systems.

“This means that the security environment of Ghana is no longer confined to our physical spaces. Our digital space has become part of our national security environment,” he stressed. He said as the Ministry responsible for internal security, government recognizes this new reality.

“Protecting Ghana today means protecting our communities, our borders and our critical infrastructure. But it also means protecting the digital systems upon which our citizens and economy increasingly depend,” he noted.

Hon. Terlabi said digital finance has transformed how Ghanaians participate in the economy, especially for those without easy access to traditional banking.

“Small businesses can receive payments digitally. Young entrepreneurs can operate businesses online. Families can transfer money quickly. Consumers access financial services from their phones. This is progress, but progress creates responsibility,” he said.

He warned that when citizens lose money through cyber-enabled fraud, the damage goes beyond finances. “When citizens lose money through cyber-enabled fraud, the damage is not merely financial. There is also a loss of confidence. And when confidence in digital systems declines, people become less willing to use them,” he added.

According to him, this is why the theme for this year’s celebration – “Securing Ghana’s Digital Finance Ecosystem: Building Trust Through Collaboration and Cyber Resilience” – is critical. He said the three ideas in the theme – security, collaboration and resilience – are inseparable.

“The foundation of every successful financial system is trust. People must trust that their money is safe, that their personal information is protected, that transactions are genuine and that when something goes wrong, there are institutions capable of responding,” he said.

“Trust cannot be taken for granted; it must be earned and protected every day,” he added.

For financial institutions, he said cybersecurity must be treated as a fundamental part of customer protection; for government, it means creating and enforcing effective policies and standards; and for law enforcement, developing capacity to investigate and disrupt cyber-enabled financial crime.

“Trust is built collectively. No institution can secure Ghana’s digital financial ecosystem alone. The threat landscape is too complex, technology is changing too rapidly and criminal networks are too adaptable,” he stressed.

He therefore called for stronger collaboration among government, the Cyber Security Authority, the Ghana Police Service and other security agencies, the Bank of Ghana, financial institutions, telecommunications and mobile money operators, technology companies, universities and international partners.

“Each institution sees a different part of the threat. When we share information, expertise and intelligence responsibly, we see the bigger picture, and when we see the bigger picture, we are better positioned to prevent, detect and respond to cyber threats,” he said.

Hon. Terlabi said collaboration alone is not enough and Ghana must also build cyber resilience.

“Cyber resilience means preparing before incidents occur, having systems that can withstand attacks, detecting threats early, responding quickly and recovering effectively. We must move away from the mindset that cybersecurity is simply about preventing every attack,” he said.

“No system can be assumed to be completely immune. Our objective must be to ensure that when attacks occur, we can withstand it, contain it, recover from it and emerge stronger,” he added.

Report by Bernard K Dadzie Greater Accra Region