The Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has urged agencies in the energy sector to secure their cyber environments.

He said the protection of cyber infrastructure must not be compromised, adding that cyberspace security is crucial at a time when information technology is widely used for development and many types of crimes.

Dr Prempeh said this at a consultative meeting on the establishment of a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) for the energy sector under the auspices of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) in Accra on Wednesday.

According to Dr Prempeh, the consultation meeting was planned in advance of the Electricity Company of Ghana's most recent cyber security issues, which had an impact on the overall architecture of electricity vending machines.

He stated that the ECG challenge should serve as a wake-up call for all agencies, urging them to increase their efforts in cyber defence and work effectively with the Cyber Security Authority for efficient surveillance.

He emphasized the financial difficulties the country would face if the energy sector's Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) was not protected.

"As sector Minister, I recognize the need for effective cybersecurity control in the energy sector. This will help us quickly detect and prevent potential cyber incidents and minimize their impacts, even when they occur," he said.

Dr Prempeh added that, in the context of the global energy sector, Ghana's energy sector infrastructure is not impervious to cyber-attacks, necessitating deliberate efforts to combat such crimes because the crippling and destruction of the infrastructure would have a catastrophic effect on our country's economy.

He urged the agencies to work in tandem with the Cyber Security Authority to prevent future security breaches.