Ghana has one of West Africa's clearest cybersecurity structures. The Cybersecurity Act of 2020 created the Cyber Security Authority, which licenses cybersecurity service providers and professionals, runs the national CERT, and publishes incident and loss figures that most African countries don't. The Data Protection Act of 2012 and the Data Protection Commission came earlier, and a revision to cover biometrics, location data and AI is under way.
The threats are mostly against people rather than institutions: mobile money fraud, social engineering, fake loan apps, and the romance scams that bring Ghanaian suspects before US courts. In the first nine months of 2026, losses reported to the CSA were more than nine times those of the year before. The Bank of Ghana polices digital lenders and payment firms, and the police's cybercrime unit handles the arrests.
Ghana is also a convening point: Accra hosts regional cyber forums and the e-Crime Bureau, a private firm that works with governments across West Africa.
Ghana's Data Protection Commission says the 2012 Act is being revised to cover biometrics, location data, cross-border transfers and AI, with stiffer fines. Its head also urged African states to keep copies of health, financial and energy data in-country.
Read at MyJoyOnline ↗The central bank says the loan apps breach Ghana's digital credit directive and violate customer data privacy and consumer protection rules. Banks and payment providers were told not to process transactions for them.
Ohene Kwame Frimpong, MP for Asante Akyem North, was arrested at Schiphol in May on a US request tied to romance fraud and money laundering. Two bail applications have failed and a Dutch court will hear the extradition case on 18 November.
The 22-year-olds used fake dating and social media profiles to defraud victims in Ohio and 24 other states between 2024 and 2026, with part of the money sent to Ghana. The FBI worked with Ghana's police and Cyber Security Authority on the case.
Isaac Oduro Boateng ('Kofi Boat') and Inusah Ahmed ('Pascal') admitted roles in a syndicate that defrauded US victims of over $100 million through romance scams and BEC, and each faces up to 20 years in prison.