Cybersecurity Threats Surge in Kenya

2020 was a tough year for many companies both financially and on the cybersecurity landscape. Various firms issued advisories of increased attacks around the world after the pandemic kicked in.

In Kenya, things weren’t any better as the Communication Authority of Kenya, in its latest Sector Statistics report, reveals a sharp uptick in attacks.

The National KE-CIRT/CC detected 35.2 million cyber threat events from July to September 2020, a 152.9 percent increase from the 13.9 million threat events detected in the previous quarter.

The driving force behind the dramatic rise is attributed to the work-from-home shift and increased uptake of e-commerce due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This increased vulnerability of organizations and businesses to cyber criminals who targeted remote working systems and tools, and e-commerce sites for fraudulent gains,” CAK said in the report.

In response to the attacks, the number of cyber threat advisories issued was more than 21,000 in the quarter to affected firms, a big chunk being relating to malware.

The report reveals the most common cyber threats detected in the country are; malware, DDOS/Botnet, web application attacks, and system vulnerabilities.

The regulatory firm also reported increased online abuse and online fraud cases reported during the period. Cyber bullying and internet trolling cases were also on the rise across Kenyan domains and social media platforms.

However, there was one reported decline in the number of impersonation cases that were linked to the commencement of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act and the increase in awareness campaigns on the protection of digital footprints.

The reported number of child abuse cases, however, remained constant.

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