The Communication Authority has put Kenyans on alert over the increase of Cyberattacks countrywide.
The regulator noted an increase of 47.5 million cyber-attacks last year following the shift to digital platforms accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some areas prone to attack include online banking, e-commerce, and remote working. With the advancement of technology, the CA has been recording a sophisticated web of cyber criminals locally and globally.
The National Kenya Computer Incident Response Team – Coordination Centre (National KE-CIRT/CC) recorded 43 percent more cyber threats, or 158.4 million in the year to June 2021, up from 110.89 million in 2020.
“This surge in cyber threats directed at local targets was attributed to increased internet penetration, uptake of e-commerce and cloud-based services to support remote working as well as a rise in the use of social media,” said CA.
Data from CA showed malware attacks, including ransomware attacks, shot up 20 per cent to 122.5 million, up from 101.6 million in the previous year.
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks grew to 17.6 million attacks, up from 1.4 million.
Cyberattacks on web applications were up to 16.2 million from 7.6 million, facilitated by an increase in mobile apps.
CA has warned individuals and organisations to be on high alert.
“The country is facing the risk of escalation of data breaches and theft of proprietary information, financial loss, reputation loss, and destruction of equipment, denial of services, unauthorized access to critical systems, and theft of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).”