• Ghana lost 19 million cedis ($1.8 million) to cybercrime in the first nine months of 2025, a 17% increase from 2024.
• Online fraud accounts for 36% of incidents, while cyberbullying represents 25%, disproportionately affecting women and youth.
• The government is creating a Cybersecurity Fund to ensure long-term financing for national digital protection programs.

Ghana is ramping up efforts to secure its digital space as cyber threats intensify across Africa, where online crimes have caused more than $3 billion in losses between 2019 and 2025, according to Interpol.

The country lost 19 million cedis ($1.8 million) to cybercrime in the first nine months of 2025, up 17% from the same period a year earlier, the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) said. Ghana recorded 2,008 incidents in the first half of 2025 alone, a 52% jump compared to all of 2024.

George Eduah Bessi, CSA’s Head of Law Enforcement and Liaison, revealed the figures during a cybersecurity awareness webinar last week. He said online fraud remains the most common form of cybercrime, accounting for 36% of reported cases, including mobile money scams, fake investment schemes, and phishing attacks.

Cyberbullying, which disproportionately affects women and young people, represented 25% of all recorded incidents, Bessi added. “The Authority is intensifying public education and regulatory enforcement to reverse this upward trend,” he said, urging individuals and companies to adopt stronger cybersecurity practices.

The Ghanaian government has launched multiple preventive initiatives, including the 2025 National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, under the theme “Building a Safe, Informed, and Responsible Digital Space.”

President John Dramani Mahama, speaking at the program’s launch on October 1, emphasized the importance of international cooperation. “Cyber threats know no borders, and it is crucial that we put in place measures to prevent them,” Mahama said, calling for broader public education, stronger collaboration, and heightened vigilance.

The government also plans to operationalize the Cybersecurity Fund, created under the 2020 Cybersecurity Act, to secure sustainable financing for national protection initiatives. Communication, Digital Technologies, and Innovation Minister Samuel Nartey George said the fund will help protect critical information infrastructure and strengthen cybersecurity capacity across sectors.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ranks Ghana among Africa’s best performers in cybersecurity. The country earned a perfect score (20) in four pillars of the Global Cybersecurity Index—legal, technical, organizational, and cooperation measures—though it scored 19.27/20 in capacity development.

If sustained, Ghana’s push to improve its digital resilience could cement its position as a cybersecurity leader in West Africa, while offering a model for other emerging economies facing similar online threats.

This article was initilally published in French by Isaac K. Kassouwi

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum