This archive report was first published on 3 July 2019.
Published on July 3, 2019, fresh data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) reveals a significant spike in cyber threats targeting Kenyan organizations.
The CA's incident response centre detected a growing number of malware, web application attacks, system misconfiguration, and online abuse cases, prompting the issuance of 14,078 cyber threat advisories to affected organizations – a 15.6% increase from the previous period's 12,138 alerts.
According to a report by tech consultancy firm Serianu, cyber security threats are estimated to have cost Kenya's economy approximately Sh29.5 billion.
As a result, firms, particularly in the financial sector, are becoming increasingly vigilant, and businesses are emerging to capitalize on the growing demand for cybersecurity solutions.
For instance, Safaricom launched a cybersecurity solution in January to protect Kenyan firms' ICT systems, while Microsoft Kenya has expressed interest in partnering with local companies to assist in securing their infrastructure.
Sebuh Haileleul, Country General Manager for Microsoft, East Africa, emphasized the importance of employee awareness in detecting cyber threats, stating, 'As local organizations increase investments in cyber security, it is becoming vital for them to also create awareness about these threats among their employees to ensure that they are able to notice some of them.'
