Investigators and Prosecutors schooled to fight cybercrime

A two-day workshop held to equip investigators and prosecutors with the necessary knowledge and skills needed to enable them to fight cybercrime effectively has ended on Tuesday in Accra.

The workshop was organised by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) in collaboration with leaders of the Conference of Western Attorney-Generals, African Alliance Partnership together with other stakeholders.

Certificates were awarded to all the 50 cybercrime officers who participated in the training.

Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Kwame Agblor, Director-General Legal and Prosecution of the Ghana Police Service at the closing ceremony, said that the training was going to enable officers to investigate and prosecute cybercrime cases effectively however simple, complex, convoluted or complicated they may be.

He said the fight against cybercrime was important for several reasons because it would ensure the integrity and availability of the system in future.

COP Agblor said that people would be able to trust that their health, finance and confidential information were secured whilst the government together with corporate bodies would be assured that their data was secured as well.

Mr Agblor said cybercrimes such as cyber fraud, cyber pornography, cyber gambling, cyber blackmail, online rumour spreading, amongst others appeared to be hidden and needed specialized skills and understanding to investigate and successfully prosecute offenders hence why the training was a timely one.

The Director-General also cautioned that just a single mistake to click an unfamiliar link or open an attachment could be the reason for massive cyber-attacks.

“We must be careful about clicking on attachments or links in emails, practicing good password management, never leaving electronic devices on unattended, being sensitive about browsing banking and shopping sites and practicing physical cyber safety such as installing malware and anti viruses on your electronic devices,” he advised.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr George Tweneboah the Deputy Director General, of the Criminal Investigation Department, Ghana Police Service remarked that the workshop had addressed important cyber security and cybercrime issues, investigation procedures, handling and preservation of evidence.

He said there had also been discussions on cyber security and a cybercrime legal frame work which will aid in investigations and successful prosecution of crimes committed in the cyber space.

ACP Tweneboah said that cybercrime in its self was both intra/inter-institutional in nature and partnership would be required to curb the criminal elements of the cyber security in this era for speedy growth of the area of electronic economic commerce.

He further charged officers and all stakeholders at the workshop to be fully committed to work with each other to tackle cyber security and cybercrime challenges in that as the internet was global so was cybercrime.