By Grace Zigah
The Cyber Security Authority (CSA) has called on Ghana’s media to strengthen its professional and cybersecurity practices as the country confronts an increasingly complex information environment in which misinformation, manipulated content, cybercrime and coordinated disinformation can pose serious threats to national security.
The call was made by the Director-General of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), Divine Selase Agbeti, during the closing of a two-day residential training workshop organised for members of the Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) at the Platinum Bay Hotel in Abokobi on Sunday, August 30, 2026.
The workshop, held under the theme “Media as a Strategic Partner in National Security,” brought together editors, publishers and journalists to examine the changing relationship between the media and Ghana’s national-security architecture.
Discussions covered emerging and asymmetric threats, communal conflicts, strategic communication, the legal framework governing security and intelligence, cybercrime, information warfare, media ethics, press freedom and the national interest. According to the CSA Director-General, these issues are interconnected and collectively shape the environment within which Ghanaian journalists now operate.
Agbeti stressed that national security should not be viewed as the sole responsibility of security agencies, arguing that protecting the country has become a shared national obligation in which the media has an important role to play.
He, however, made clear that describing the media as a strategic partner does not mean journalists should abandon their independence, suppress legitimate criticism or become an extension of government.
Rather, he said, an independent and courageous press contributes to national security by exposing wrongdoing, challenging falsehoods, educating citizens and holding public institutions accountable.
But he cautioned that press freedom comes with corresponding responsibilities, particularly at a time when information can travel across the country within seconds. Accuracy, context and sound editorial judgment, he noted, have become important components of national resilience.
The warning comes against the backdrop of a rapidly changing digital media environment where journalists and news organisations increasingly depend on online platforms to gather, publish and distribute information.
While the digital transformation has expanded the reach of the media, it has also created new opportunities for criminals and hostile actors to manipulate public opinion and exploit the credibility of established news organisations.
Agbeti identified impersonation, compromised accounts, manipulated photographs, synthetic audio and coordinated disinformation among the tactics being used to deceive citizens and distort public debate.
He warned that newsrooms themselves can become targets, while compromised journalists’ accounts can be exploited not only to obtain information but also to misuse the journalist’s credibility and established audience.
Against this background, the CSA Director-General said cybersecurity must no longer be treated merely as a technical responsibility for information-technology departments. Instead, he urged news organisations to make cybersecurity part of their everyday editorial culture.
He recommended that newsrooms adopt basic safeguards, including strong and unique passwords, multi-factor authentication, timely software updates, secure backups, careful verification of links and attachments, effective access controls and clearly defined incident-response procedures.
He further stressed the need to protect sources and sensitive journalistic materials while ensuring that staff know where and how to report cyber incidents.
Agbeti outlined five practical commitments he said should emerge from the workshop.
The first, he said, is the need to “verify before amplifying.” While recognising the importance of speed in journalism, he argued that accuracy must take precedence, particularly when reports involve security incidents, communal conflicts or public emergencies.
Such information, he said, should be independently verified, geolocated where possible and cross-checked against credible official and community sources before publication.
The second commitment concerns the protection of people and operations. The Director-General urged journalists to pursue the public interest without publishing tactical positions, identities of protected persons, sensitive investigative information or other details that could potentially assist criminals or hostile actors.
He also called for the development of cyber-resilient newsrooms, urging PRINPAG members to designate cybersecurity focal persons, conduct regular staff training, secure official media accounts and establish straightforward procedures for escalating, recovering from and publicly correcting cyber-related incidents.
The fourth area is the handling of misinformation and editorial errors. Agbeti said corrections should be made visibly and quickly, with sufficient prominence to reach audiences who may have encountered the original inaccurate information.
He argued that responsible journalism should not be judged solely by whether a newsroom never makes mistakes, but also by how openly and promptly it responds when errors occur.
The fifth commitment involves closer and more structured engagement between the media and security institutions. The CSA, he said, is prepared to work with PRINPAG through regular briefings, awareness programmes, incident-reporting guidance and practical exchanges between journalists and relevant security institutions.
According to him, meaningful trust cannot be built only when a national-security crisis has already occurred. Instead, relationships and communication channels must be established before emergencies arise.
Agbeti further challenged PRINPAG to convert the lessons of the workshop into a concise newsroom protocol governing national-security and cyber-incident reporting. Such a framework, he said, should protect editorial independence while setting standards for verification, the handling of sensitive information, source protection, corrections and engagement with appropriate authorities.
