The Kenya Ministry of Information, Communications and Digital Economy says the number of cyberattacks targeting government digital services has reached 1.7 billion threats and continues to rise.
Despite the attracts, the government has increased the number of digital services to more than 17,000 and has pledged to double this number in the coming years.
This was revealed at the Institute for Governance, Risk and Compliance of the Audit and Control (ISACA) meeting.
According to the agency’s cybersecurity director, Yunis Omar, the government is still determined to digitize all its services despite the new challenges.
He said that the government has laid more than 80,000 kilometres of 100,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables as part of its digitalization plan.
Plans are underway to educate over 20 million Kenyans in digital literacy, noting that this will only work once the entire country is connected to the internet.
He said the government has identified 25,000 digital access points and created 1,450 digital hubs by 2027 to achieve this goal.
“We are working with partners in achieving this and also addressing the issue of data security in the wake of increased cases of cyber threats,” he said.
Mercy Omollo, ISACA president, noted that technology and the ongoing war in the Middle East are some of the challenges facing the industry.
Conflicts in some countries have made the situation worse, she added, and stakeholders can play a role in reducing the impact.
“These disruptors have seen levels of regulations rise and we are urging our members to think of innovation in this era of digital transformation,” she said.
The organisation’s president, Preston Odero, said they increased their certifications from one to nine as concerns about cybersecurity continue to rise.
“As cases of cyber-threats continue to rise, there is a need to address data protection which we are doing as our membership rises to over 1,800 members,” he said.
