<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif;font-size:12pt"><br><div> </div><br><div><br></div><div><br></div><div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br><div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Tahoma" size="2">----- Forwarded Message ----<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> Eric Akumiah <eakumiah2001@yahoo.com><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> Chapter Delegates <chapter-delegates@elists.isoc.org><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Thu, April 29, 2010 4:50:46 AM<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> PRESS RELEASE: ISOC GHANA LEADS DISCUSSION ON INTERNET SECURITY<br></font><br>
<div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></b><b><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></b><b><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></b><b><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></b><div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="color: rgb(23, 54, 93); letter-spacing: -0.15pt;" lang="EN-US">For Immediate
Release</span></i></b>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="color: rgb(23, 54, 93); letter-spacing: -0.15pt;" lang="EN-US"> </span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">ISOC
GHANA LEADS DISUCSSIONS ON INTERNET SECURITY <span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);"></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">Accra, Ghana April 23, 2010</span></b><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">: “Cyber crime has become extremely pervasive since the
invention of the Internet.<span style=""> </span>In Ghana,
many people associate the phenomena with <i style="">Sakawa</i>,
which is Internet fraud or scamming<i style="">. </i>However,
cyber crime goes beyond Internet fraud, it could also involve the<i style=""> </i>hacking of networks, which could
destroy a nation’s critical infrastructure. </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">The
perpetrators of cyber crime have become very sophisticated, so there is the need
to protect our Internet resources by waging warfare against them,” said Prof
Nii Narku Quaynor. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">Prof Quaynor, made these remarks at social night, when he
chaired a social gathering</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">organised by the Ghana Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC) </span><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">under the theme,</span><b><i><span style="" lang="EN-US"> Internet Security and the National Effort.<span style=""> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">It was attended by about 50 people
from ISOC members, government, civil society, industry and academia. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">Reiterating the importance of
protecting our critical infrastructure, Mr. Daniel Asante, coordinator of the
Ghana Computer Emergency Response Team (</span><b style=""><i style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">ghCERT</span></i></b><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">) informed the gathering that </span><b style=""><i style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">ghCERT</span></i></b><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US"> was partnering with government
agencies, ghNOG, ISOC Ghana, GhNIC and other organisations to create awareness
on Internet security issues and how some of the incidences can be
prevented.<span style=""> </span>He however, said that because
of the pervasive nature of the Internet, it was difficult to track down on the
perpetrators and that everyone was obligated to protect the Internet against
anti-social acts.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">An interesting question that came up
for discussion was how much security was needed to prevent the cyber
crime.<span style=""> </span>While one school was of the
thought that security was extremely necessary and that policies should be put
in place to curb cyber crime, another was of the opinion that, the more
security, the less friendly the Internet becomes, since the Internet is a
network of networks and used by a large number of people.<span style=""> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">Adding on to the debate, Prof.
Quaynor said that technology keeps changing very rapidly and policies very
quickly become obsolete.<span style=""> </span>Moreover,
policies on Internet usage are done globally with the involvement of
organisations such as, the IETF, ISOC, IGF, ITU, ICANN etc, and these normally
take time before they are implemented.<span style="">
</span>He said, rather than preventing the occurrences, the role of <b style=""><i style="">ghCERT</i></b>
is to respond to problems as and when they occur.<span style=""> </span>Prof. Quaynor stressed on the importance of
sharing of best practices among IT operators on a regularly, so that they are
abreast of the issues. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">Presenting the topic</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, <b style=""><i style="">M<span style="">itigating the ‘Sakawa’ Challenge, </span></i></b><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);">Mr. Charles Nelson, of Youth Against Cyber Crime,
described himself as ‘a lone ranger’ in the war against Sakawa. He described
the phenomena as endemic and that the future was bleak if the government does
not take measures to nip the crime in the bud.<span style="">
</span>Of great concern to Mr. Nelson, however is the erroneous perception
among people that young people who use Internet are all engaged in the Sakawa
business.<span style=""> </span>“There must be a
reorientation of the minds of the youth</span> <span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);">that
the Internet goes beyond Sakawa.” He said.<span style="">
</span>“Advocacy is therefore, the key to change the mindset of these young
people.<span style=""> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">As the Internet continues to grow,
there is a need for global computer emergency response teams to curb the
incidences of cyber crime.<span style=""> </span>The Ghana
project is therefore, a laudable initiative. According to Prof Quaynor, there
is the need to create network of government ministries agencies and departments
to come out with a defence strategy. He made this call when Mr.<span style=""> </span>Godfred Ofori-Som, Chair, Technical
Committee, ISOC, Ghana, Ayittey Bulley, Vodafone, Ghana, Daniel Asante and
Charles Nelson, constituted a panel to discuss the way forward in forging a
strong computer emergency response team.<span style="">
</span>Mr. Asante, said that currently <b style=""><i style="">ghCERT</i></b> was operating on funds from
benefactors and voluntary contributions and that there was the need to look for
other funding alternatives. Dr. Quaynor called on <b style=""><i style="">ghCERT</i></b> to form strong
ties with the government and tackle the issues from a multi-stakeholder
approach.<span style=""> </span>Mr. Asante made a call for
volunteers to join in the crusade to make the Internet a safer place.<span style=""> </span>He said <b style=""><i style="">GhCERT</i></b> was putting a portal in place
where it would disseminate information via listservs. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">He also called for volunteers to team
up with <b style=""><i style="">ghCERT</i></b> to create awareness of the initiative.<span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">Four other
CERTS in Africa can be found in Tunisia, South Africa, Mauritius and Egypt.</span><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">The evening was climaxed with the launching of the new ISOC
website, which has current Web 2 features, user generation content, with face book
and twitter integrations. The launch was performed by Prof. Quaynor, Board
Chairman of ISOC Ghana.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">About Internet Society Ghana Chapter</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(89, 89, 89);" lang="EN-US">The Internet Society Ghana Chapter (ISOC-Ghana) is a
not-for-profit organization and official Chapter of the Internet Society.<span style=""> </span>The mission of ISOC –Ghana is to inform the
private and public community of Internet users, on recent developments in
Internet technologies and their impact on today’s global society.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77);" lang="EN-US"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77);" lang="FR"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77);" lang="FR">Contact:</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77);" lang="FR">Vera Doku<br>
Communication Chair</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77);" lang="FR">ISOC Ghana</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77);" lang="EN-US">[E] : <a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:Vera.doku@gmail.com" target="_blank" href="mailto:Vera.doku@gmail.com">Vera.doku@gmail.com</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77);" lang="EN-US">[M]: +233-244627994<b style=""></b></span></p>
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