The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced plans to broaden the scope of its Financial Industry Command Security Operations Centre (FICSOC) to include all regulated financial institutions in the country.

This will be in partnership with sister regulatory bodies such as the National Insurance Commission (NIC), the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Announcing this development during the FICSOC Stakeholders Forum in Accra, the First Deputy Governor, Dr. Zakari Mumuni, explained that the expansion aimed to extend cybersecurity support, including early warning systems, situational awareness, and threat intelligence, to the entire financial ecosystem.

“Cybersecurity must be democratized. Every institution must be supported with the tools and visibility to protect their operations and their customers,” he said.

Dr. Mumuni cautioned that cyber risks were unlike any other; They are stealthy, adaptive, and borderless and a single weakness in one institution can cascade into systemic threats amplified by the interconnectedness of the financial sector.

“A breach in one part of our financial ecosystem could compromise operations, security, and the privacy of stakeholders across multiple institutions — regulators, partners, vendors, and customers alike,” he added.

In 2023, global financial cyberattacks surged by 38%, while annual money laundering flows exceeded $2 trillion.  Ghana has not been spared. In 2024, cyber and technology-related fraud losses reached almost GHC10 million up from GHC8.9 million the previous year, according to the Bank of Ghana’s 2024 Fraud Report.

To this end, he stressed that no single institution, no matter how large or well-resourced, could face these threats alone, therefore, collaboration was not optional.

“We must share intelligence, align standards, and develop resilient systems to protect the integrity of our industry and the trust of those we serve,” Dr. Mumuni said.