Achimota SHS wins southern zone section of National Cybersecurity Challenge

The Achimota Senior High School (SHS), a public school in the Greater Accra Region, has emerged as winners of the southern zone section of the National Cybersecurity Challenge (NCC) for 2024.The contestants garnered 45 points at the end of the third round to win the keenly contested quiz.St. John's Grammar SHS placed second with 38 points, followed by Wesley Girls' SHS with 31 points to take the third place.The winners would compete with schools from other zones in October this year, where Achimota SHS would be competing against Wa SHS, Serwaa Kesse Girls' SHS and St Peter's SHS respectively in the Northern, Middle and Eastern zones.Ms Henrietta Asamoah, the Lead, Child Online Protection of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), said the initiative was to enhance cyber safety for high school students, providing practical training on identifying, preventing, and mitigating digital threats, with focus on online child sexual exploitation and abuse.She said a survey by the CSA showed that children were in creasingly facing sextortion, where many share explicit content online, making girls, especially vulnerable to coercion.Ms Asamoah said perpetrators often demanded money that victims could not pay and shared the content with others, worsening the victims' distress.'To address the issue, some students may need to change schools to ensure their safety and comfort. We are collaborating with the Ghana Education Service to facilitate these changes,' she said.Ms Asamoah said the goal was to enhance online safety through widespread awareness, reaching as many students as possible.The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in Ghana had also indicated that over 22,000 sexual images of children had been produced, accessed, and shared on social media platforms.Ms Asamoah explained that a 2023 survey by the CSA also revealed that more than 64 per cent of such abusive materials were generated and distributed within the country, indicating a serious risk of exposing Ghanaian youth to sexual predators and groomers.Source: Ghana News Agency