One of the greatest challenges facing society in the twenty first century is that of security. As the world has shrunk into a global village, where people from the farthest part of the world, can reach out and be in touch with others, the issue of security has become a nightmare for security agents.
Another front which makes security a complex issue is the scourge of terrorism. Terrorists and terrorist groups now use the worldwide web to reach out and recruit potential operatives from anywhere in the world. The anonymity offered by the Internet makes it a safe haven for them.
In the area of finance also cybercrime has become the new bane. Some nefarious individuals use the Internet to hack into the accounts of individuals or institutions and transfer funds into their own. They have been able to hack into many firms and gotten the private information of individuals, enabling them to visit them with havoc.
Some pedophiles also use the anonymity of the Internet to lure young girls – and boys – to go to secluded places to molest them. Others just use it to bully young people to an extent that they are traumatized and may even contemplate taking their own lives or doing things that are harmful to them.
As this has a direct connection with the internal and external security of nations, it is important that the national intelligence agencies in the sub-region coordinate their efforts so that they can share information and cooperate in their work in order to protect the citizenry.
It is in this light that the national intelligence agencies in the West African sub-region are in Banjul on a meeting on cybersecurity and related issues.
In a recently concluded meeting of heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States, Mr Muhammadou Buhari, called on all heads of state to increase efforts to maintain security for their peoples.
Thus, this meeting will go a long way in ensuring the security to the people of West Africa.
