Kenya cyber attacks rise to 11.2 million in first quarter

Kenyan organisations were hit by about 11.2 million cyber threats, being a 10.1 percent increase in the number of incidences, in the first three months of 2019 when compared to the previous quarter.

This is according to fresh Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) data indicating that its incident response centre detected growing cases of malware, web application attacks, system misconfiguration and online abuse.

CA’s cyber intelligence team consequently issued 14,078 cyber threat advisories to the affected organisations, an increase from the 12,138 alerts during the previous period.

Cyber security threats are estimated to have cost Kenya’s economy about Sh29.5 billion, a recent report by tech consultancy firm Serianu said.

The rise in cyber threats has forced firms, especially in the financial sector, to be vigilant and created businesses opportunities for others.

For instance, Safaricom #ticker:SCOM in January launched a cybersecurity solution targeted at Kenyan firms looking to protect their ICT systems.

Microsoft Kenya has also expressed interest in partnering with local companies to assist in securing their infrastructure.

A recent Microsoft report said that ransomware, a malicious software that blocks a user’s access to gadgets until a payment is made, will continue to be a popular method used by cyber criminals this year.

“As local organisations 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 them,” said Sebuh Haileleul, Country General Manager for Microsoft, East Africa.