Kenya has experienced a concerning upswing in cyberattacks, with an astonishing 860 million occurrences documented in the previous year, as reported by the nation’s communications regulatory authority.
The regulatory body has voiced apprehensions regarding the escalating frequency, complexity, and magnitude of these cyber threats, with a particular focus on their impact on Kenya’s vital information infrastructure.
To provide context, it’s noteworthy that in 2017, Kenya encountered 7.7 million cyberattacks, underscoring the significant surge over the course of the past four years.
An especially noteworthy event in July involved a high-profile cyberattack attributed to the pro-Russian hacking group Anonymous Sudan. This incident disrupted access to over 5,000 online government services in Kenya, affecting crucial functions such as visa, passport, and driver’s license applications and renewals. Furthermore, the attack disrupted online train booking systems and mobile money transactions.
According to disclosures from the Communications Authority of Kenya, a substantial 79% of these cyberattacks resulted from criminals infiltrating the computer systems of various organizations. In the meantime, 14% involved the deployment of malicious software, 6.5% centered on cybercriminals overwhelming servers with traffic to overload their infrastructure, and the remainder targeted web applications.
Unfortunately, Kenya currently ranks as the third most targeted country for cybercriminals in Africa, trailing behind Nigeria and South Africa. This disconcerting trend underscores the urgent necessity for heightened cybersecurity measures to protect the nation’s critical digital assets.
The content and information presented in this article, titled ‘Kenya Faces Alarming Surge in Cyberattacks with 860 Million Incidents in the Past Year,’ are derived from publicly available knowledge and general insights. Any similarities in content or structure between this article and the news article titled ‘Kenya Hit by Record 860m Cyber Attacks in a Year,’ published on October 3, 2023, by Africanews, are intentional.