ABSTRACT
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a diverse geographical region made up of a combination of coastal, landlocked, and island countries. Cybercrime is an international problem that requires cross jurisdictional collaboration across all national boundaries to successfully address it. The approach of the region to handling cybersecurity is quite nebulous, given that is a region where most of the countries are classified as least developed, with the priority of governments being placed on socioeconomic development and bridging the digital divide. The security of a nation and the wellbeing of its people are paramount to its development, hence the connectedness between priority areas and cybersecurity needs to be established for resource mobilization. Awareness is a good starting point in cultivating a culture of cybersecurity in the region. ECOWAS needs to improve its involvement in the establishment of a trustworthy cyber space by providing better guidance and practical assistance to countries according to their needs.
