The Cyber Security Authority (CSA) and the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), led by their respective Director-Generals have committed to collaborate in the implementation of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038) which was assented into law on December 29, 2020.
They made the pledge during a consultative meeting at the behest of the Director-General on NITA earlier this month.
The Director-Generals exchanged views on the benefits to be derived when they work together and agreed that it was prudent for them to learn best practices from each other to effectively strategise and implement their respective mandates, while addressing issues of mutual concern.
They recognised the importance of securing critical information infrastructure (CII), and the fact that NITA, which is responsible for implementing Ghana’s IT policies, has been designated as a CII pursuant to section 35 of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038). Both highlighted NITA’s role as government works closely with the CSA to ensure the protection of data and critical systems.
After successful deliberations, recommendations and suggestions, they agreed to collaborate more closely on some critical areas. The two institutions further agreed to provide each other with all the necessary assistance for the execution of their respective mandates and functions.
The meeting concluded with the issuing of a joint statement between CSA and NITA – which outlines the areas of cooperation, namely, protection of CII, computer emergency response and capacity building.
The Cyber Security Authority and the National Information Technology Agency reaffirmed their commitment to work together, and agreed to partner to engage their common stakeholders to hold joint discussions with them on the areas of their respective mandates; collaborate in the development of a sectoral directive for the protection of CIIs in the government sector; and collaborate in the area of capacity building and knowledge transfer through personnel exchanges.
Both outfits will further collaborate in the area of incident response, as NITA is considered a Sectoral Computer Emergency Response Team (Sectoral CERT) lead pursuant to Section 44 of Act 1038; and collaborate on standardisation, certification and accreditation activities as part of both institutions’ regulatory mandates.
