The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison,  says the Financial Industry Command Security Operations Centre (FICSOC) is a key component of the systems needed to address the challenges of cyber security. 

He said the Centre would help provide real-time visibility into cyber threats and attacks targeting the banking sector.  

Dr Addison was speaking at the commissioning of the FICSOC Project in Accra. 

He said in October 2018, the Bank of Ghana issued the Cyber and Information Security Directive for banks and other Bank of Ghana-regulated financial institutions to implement the required Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) controls. 

He said it was to ensure the delivery of a safer digital financial Industry. 

The implementation of the Directive was phased over 36 months, and through effective monitoring and supervision among regulated banks. 

He said as these institutions worked towards full implementation of the directive, it became evident that the Central Bank had to establish an industry Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system to enable those institutions implementing SIEMs to send logs/alerts, aggregate information and reports. 

“To achieve this, the Bank initiated the SIEM project which we call the FICSOC Project,” he added. 

Dr Addison said the FICSOC Project, which had now been completed and operational with reports/alerts in the form of threat intelligence provided to the banks to improve their incident response mechanisms. 

He said three years ago, the Bank started working with commercial banks as key external stakeholders to create a secure cybersecurity environment in the financial sector, hence the completion of the FICSOC project. 

He said the Bank and the Cyber Security Authority were collaborating to improve the cybersecurity posture in the banking sector. 

"The two institutions are discussing various ways to approach the implementation of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038) for the sector. " 

He commended the implementation partner, Virtual InfoSec Africa, and the FICSOC Consultant, Mr Samuel Amoah, and BoG FICSOC Project Team members for their commitment and diligence in achieving the success of the project.