High Rate Of Cyber Attacks Rattles Safaricom Into Action

As part of the cyber security awareness month, Safaricom on 17th October hosted an industrywide cyber security summit with a call on businesses, government and individuals to invest in technologies that protect sensitive information and critical systems from cyber threats.

The event marked under the theme Becoming a Cyber Resilient Organisation, brought together close to 400 cybersecurity industry leaders and professionals physically and virtually to discuss the latest cyber security trends and evolving enterprise networks.

“Cybercrime is becoming increasingly professionalised, leading to a proliferation of numerous subtle and sophisticated threats,” said Mr Nicholas Mulila, Chief Corporate Security Officer, Safaricom PLC. “Attackers are constantly working on  designing, building, and evolving solutions to bypass or overcome the most advanced cybersecurity solutions.

This has created a landscape in which companies face more significant cyber threats than ever before.  As cyber threat actors refine their techniques, attacks will become even more common, Mr Mulila said, and companies will face novel and more dangerous cyber threats.

Statistics from the Communications Authority show that between July to September 2023, Kenya experienced  more than 123 million cyber threat events.  “At Safaricom, we continue to provide a variety of solutions that connect, protect, enable, and transform business, ensuring business continuity even in the face of cyber attacks,” said Ms Cynthia Kropac, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Safaricom PLC.

Last year, the  government introduced a National Cybersecurity Strategy (2022-2027) that outlines an implementation framework and timeline to address gaps in the changing cyberspace.

“Cyber crimes are increasing due to the advances in technology. Cybersecurity is key to everything we do. We have developed an integrated cooperative management system to transform our systems from analogue to digital to improve our efficiency in service delivery and we are committed to safeguard this platform from cyber threats ,” said Mr Patrick Kilemi, Principal Secretary, State Department for Cooperatives.

Other dignitaries present at the forum were Jackson Makewa, Director Cybersecurity, Department for Information Communications and Colonel James Kimuyu, Director General, National Computer and Cybercrimes.

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