Journalists have been cautioned against publishing unverified claims about cyber criminals or prematurely disclosing unresolved vulnerabilities in computer systems.Alex Awere-Kyere, Senior Manager for Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) at the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), said that while the media had an important role to play in exposing cyber threats and educating the public, journalists needed to balance the public interest with the potential security implications of their reports.“Sometimes, in our quest to do media enterprise, we may publish information that can disrupt investigations or give cybercriminals an indication of the next move of the security agencies,” he said.Mr Awere-Kyere made the remarks during a training session for media practitioners under the National Community Media Cyber Capacity Building Project (NCMCCBP), aimed at strengthening journalists’ capacity to report responsibly on cybersecurity.He explained that premature publication of information about vulnerabilities in computer systems could provide criminals with a roadmap to exploit those weaknesses before they were fixed.He urged journalists who received sensitive information about cyber incidents to engage the CSA or other relevant security agencies before publication.“Where the security agencies advise that we hold on to certain information, the media should heed that advice or engage the authority to determine which aspects of the information can safely be made public,” he said.Mr Awere-Kyere noted that 13 sectors, including banking and finance, energy, water, and health, had been designated as Critical Information Infrastructure sectors due to their importance to national security and the economy.A disruption to the operations of such institutions, he said, could have consequences far beyond the affected organisation and potentially affect the wider economy.Mr Awere-Kyere also urged the public not to wait until they had lost money before reporting suspected mobile money fraud.He said an early report to the CSA could allow the authority and the police to intervene before a fraudulent transaction was completed.“Once the victim transfers the money to the fraudster and the money is withdrawn from the mobile money account. The prospects of recovering it become very slim,” he said.He encouraged the public to report suspected mobile money fraud to the CSA through a toll-free number -292 before completing the transaction, where possible.He said mobile money fraud involving stolen personal information was handled through the Joint Cybersecurity Committee established under Section 13 of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038).The Committee brings together the CSA, Bank of Ghana, National Communications Authority, Economic and Organised Crime Office, Ghana Army, and the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service.Mr Awere-Kyere said tackling mobile money fraud required more than pursuing the perpetrators after money had been stolen, stressing the need to address how victims’ personal information got into the hands of fraudsters.That, he said, required collaboration among the CSA, Data Protection Commission, telecommunications operators, and other members of the Joint Cybersecurity Committee.The engagement formed part of a series of training sessions under the NCMCCBP, being implemented by the CSA, Africa Centre for Digital Transformation (ACDT), and the Government of the Czech Republic.The project was launched in Accra on August 3, 2026, to build the capacity of journalists and media practitioners to understand cybersecurity issues and report on them accurately and responsibly.The programme is scheduled to move to Kumasi in September.The training comes at a time when cyber-related incidents are becoming increasingly relevant to everyday life, making the media’s role in informing the public critical.Mr Awere-Kyere said responsible cyber reporting should help the public stay safe without inadvertently handing cybercriminals the information they need to strike.