The Computer Society of Kenya

Since 1986

Cyber-securityDAILY NATION By FRED MUKINDA

Thursday August 04,2016

Kenyans are increasingly becoming vulnerable to cyber attacks because of lack of up-to-date safeguards, the Defence ministry warned yesterday.

Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo said the country faces greater risks if counter-measures are not developed faster.

“Cyber attacks are continuously evolving, to a great extent faster than cyber defences. Cyber attacks are diverse, coming from elements seeking to publicise political views, criminal organisations seeking financial gain, terrorist groups seeking to inflict economic or political damage, to state-sponsored intelligence and security organisations,” she said.

Ms Omamo was speaking to senior military, police and Intelligence officers in Nairobi.

Other law enforcement agencies also attended the meeting, aimed at coming up with a common plan to protect organisations and Kenyans from terrorist and other attacks from the internet.

“Increased dependence on ICT has exposed Kenya to premeditated security threats. The Kenya Defence Forces will continue to be at the forefront of national security issues through the development and implementation of national cyber defence capabilities,” said the CS.

Chief of Defence Forces Samsom Mwathethe said the military has a key role in protecting Kenya’s cyberspace just as it does “on sea, land and air.”

“In an era of cloud computing where there is an app for every occasion, where we can’t always predict what the next thing will be, we will need to be adaptable, flexible and fast off the mark,” he said.

Defence Principal Secretary Kirimi Kaberia said Kenya has an enormous number of internet users and the government would ensure security agents are legally protected to do their work.

Banks are some of the prime targets of internet fraudsters while government internet installations are also commonly targeted by hackers.

Paedophiles are also active on the internet and so are terrorist groups like Al-Shabaab.

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