Kenya loses Sh2 billion annually to cybercrime

NAIROBI, KENYA: Kenya loses close to Sh2 billion every year due to cybercrime. This according to  a  report released  by the Ministry  of Information in conjunction with other stakeholders  in the ICT sector.

According to the report, in 2013 Banking Fraud Investigations Department (BFID) reported that Sh1.49 billion
was stolen from customers’ accounts between April 2012 and April 2013 through fraudlent schemes hatched by employees.

The report titled: Kenya  Cyber security report 2014 also reveals that  among the top threats  in the Kenyan cyber security landscape , Insiders Threats remain the biggest security issue facing many organisations in the country.

The report  which was launched by Joseph Tiampati, Principal Secretary, Ministry of  Information and Communication further reveals that terrorists, and other cyber criminals  have now turned to  Social media networks to carry out their criminal activities.

Other threats highlighted among the top cyber threats in the country include VOIP PBX fraud , Denial of service attacks, Botnet attacks and Cyber espionage.

The report further shows that  the number of cyber threat attacks detected in the Kenyan cyberspace in 2013 grew by 108percent to 5.4million attacks compared to 2.6 million attacks detected in 2012.

Tiampati  urged Organisations to establish and maintain adaptable security policies, processes, and infrastructure that can be used to coordinate response to ICT security threats.