A letter to students

Police have arrested suspects who were operating an international cybercrime syndicate. The hackers had stolen hundreds of millions of shillings from parastatals, banks, Saccos and even the Kenya Revenue Authority. The reports reveal that Kenya lost Sh17 billion to hackers last year.

The syndicate‘s work was easy as they had the help of insiders mainly who work in the ICT department and the protection of prominent politicians who helped in the installation of malwares to allow the hackers access the financial systems without detection.

Hacking excites young people because they find it easy to get impossible things done only at the palm of their hands. It started with the circulation of data bundles commonly referred to as ‚bundles mwitu.‘ These bundles have been in the market at throw away prices and although the mobile operators have tried cracking down the brains behind this operation, they have not made much headway.

Being rich regardless of how you get there, is the new turn the youths are taking. This makes it easy to lure youths in cybercrime and distribution of narcotics.

The high rate of unemployment in Kenya has made the youths vulnerable to crime.
This report has clearly shown that sophisticated ICT equipment can be easily hacked. The IEBC should ensure the systems they install during elections are secured to avoid manipulation of data during the elections. The police should continue with the crackdown on cybercrime to prevent private and public sectors from losing money to unscrupulous people.

The people found guilty of cybercrimes should be handed harsh sentences to serve as a deterrent to others.