Members of ISACA at the summit
C.K BRUCE, the Accra Chapter President of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), has bemoaned government’s inability to develop a legislation which will help protect data.
He said this has created an opportunity for unscrupulous individuals to easily exploit the lack of control that pertain in some financial institutions and government agencies.
He emphasised that “recent fires which engulfed some of our critical institutions leading to significant loss of data should have triggered some kind of response.”
He noted that “even though the Data Protection Bill was recently read in parliament, it is just one aspect of the bigger picture since there’s no regulation or legislation that ensures the protection of government or listed company data.”
Mr. Bruce was speaking at opening of ISACA’s Information Technology (IT) Governance Summit 2011 in Accra.
He therefore announced that “ISACA Accra chapter is well placed to assist in developing the right kind of environment for the development and sustenance of solid organizations in the information-driven world we currently live in.”
He said holding the summit demonstrates ISACA’s commitment in ensure that data is adequately protected to create forums and opportunities for discussion to facilitate the change.
The summit was aimed at helping enterprise leaders understand why IT goals must align with those of the business, how IT delivers value and how IT performance is measured.
In his address, the Deputy Minister of Communications, Ernest Atoquaye Armah said his ministry is currently drafting a national Cyber Security Strategy to, among other things, curb the surge in cyber crime and secure critical national infrastructure from cyber attacks.
It is envisage that through this strategy Ghana’s Computer Emergency Response Team (GH-CERT) which is to provide early warning and detection capability, and comprehensive situational awareness across the government agencies would be established.
The GH-CERT is to collaborate with other international CERT’s to share information.
The minister added that “as part of the eGhana project, Government will soon set up security architecture to provide an increased level of confidence for online commerce, communication and collaboration over an increasingly insecure internet.”
He emphasised that “to be proactive in dealing with new threats and vulnerabilities that expose our systems, the Ministry has recognized and accepted for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to demonstrate compliance with International Standards for Information Security Management.”
Mr. Armah said “occasions like this provide us the opportunity for interaction and to exchange ideas that help our organizations to streamline areas of operations in the Information Technology Governance issues, which subsequently enhances our ability to direct, measure and evaluate the use of an enterprise’s IT resources in support of the achievement of the organization’s strategic goals.”
“In this era where technology has become the driver and enabler of socio-economic development, there is no argument that the operations of business entities depend so much on the power of technology.”
“It is in this light that the Ministry of Communications is challenged to facilitate the vision of Government to develop polices, regulations and programmes to transform Ghana into a country with sufficient, cost-effective and accessible IT infrastructure to propel appropriate use of technology,” the Minister emphasised.
The summit was attended by corporate bodies, executive management teams, assurance and IT professionals.
ISACA was formed in 1969 when a small group of individuals with similar jobs came together to discuss the need for a centralized source of information and guidance in the field.
Today the Association has 95,000 members in more than 90 chapters worldwide.
By Esther Awuah