As part of the cybersecurity awareness month, Safaricom has convened a two-day industry-wide Cybersecurity Summit with a call on businesses, governments, and individuals to invest in technologies that protect sensitive information and critical systems from cyber threats.
The event marked under the theme “Secure Innovation, Unstoppable Growth for Kenyan Financial Services” brings together close to 500 cybersecurity industry leaders and professionals to discuss the latest cybersecurity trends and evolving enterprise networks.
“Cybercriminals are increasingly using advanced tactics such as ransomware, phishing, and social engineering to infiltrate financial systems. These attacks are becoming more personalized and targeted, aiming to compromise sensitive data and financial assets. It is imperative for organizations to explore emerging technologies to enhance cybersecurity resilience,” said Ramakrishna Balagopa, Vice President Business – EMEA, SISA, Infosec Company.
An interpol African Cyberthreat assessment report of 2024 shows that Africa experienced the highest average weekly cyber – attacks per organization in Q2 2024, mainly due to inadequacy of cybersecurity infrastructure. Nearly 90% of African businesses lack cybersecurity protocols, leaving them vulnerable to attacks.
In Kenya, between April and June 2024, over 1.1billion cyberthreat events were detected, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya, attributed to the continued proliferation of Internet of Things devices in the country, insecure system configurations and deprecated software, as well as the dynamism occasioned by new and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.
“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 cyberattacks. We offer security advisory, network security, online/data/web security, cyber security operations and physical security that includes a video surveillance system. We also have an enhanced cloud solution and reliable connectivity and payment services,” Safaricom’s Chief Executive, Peter Ndegwa remarked.
On her part, Safaricom’s Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Cynthia Kropac, MSMEs are equally vulnerable to cyber threats with growing digitization, “With growing digitalization globally, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) remain vulnerable to cyber- attacks with a lack of understanding of security risks and limited capital allocation to mitigate such threats. There is a need to equip MSMEs with knowledge and hands-on training on how to identify and combat cyber threats and become more cyber-resilient,” she remarked.