This archive report was first published on 3 November 2019.
Kenya's banking sector has been grappling with a surge in cybercrime cases, with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) issuing a new policy to require banks to report cases in real-time.
According to statistics from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Banking Fraud Unit, many of the suspects involved in cases of electronic fraud are well-educated university graduates with an IT background but who remain unemployed.
The suspects work in cahoots with bank staff who provide them with crucial information about IP addresses, allowing them to remotely access a bank's system and transfer money from one account to another.
Telecommunication companies with systems that move huge volumes of cash, such as mobile money transfer, have also been directed to file reports with the CBK.
Recently, eight Kenyans believed to be IT graduates were arrested in Rwanda over plans to steal money from an Equity Bank branch, highlighting the growing threat of cybercrime in the region.
As a result, the CBK has seconded a special team of IT investigators to handle investigations, comprising IT experts from the DCI cybercrime unit and the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
