The news broke online that the website of the President has been hacked and the hackers are requesting to pay KSh41 million to restore the web access. The news was brought up on the Kenyans.co.ke website.
According to the Kenyan media, unidentified hackers breached the President's website and then started a demand for a ransom money, which has raised new questions about security of government computers and digital assets. Nevertheless, the Government of Kenya has not yet declared the breach or even issued any reply in relation to the ransom threat.
If the case is verified, this will not only be a big incident for the government but also a major test for the country's cybersecurity infrastructure. The government has yet to react to the ransom demand or admit that its computer systems were hacked and data stolen or altered.
The threat of hackers getting access to Government websites through security flaws and then extorting money has always been there from the point of view of the cybersecurity authorities and they have never ceased to make the relevant warnings.
We have not heard yet if any Government documents or records were revealed or hacked, nor if the operations of the website were disrupted by the cyberattack.
Apart from that, there was reported that hacking of a top level government site has been happening during the time of a surge of ransomware malware attacks of governments and other public bodies around the world.
Government officials said they are looking forward to releasing a public letter after the research findings. Until then, the information concerning the cyberattack has been shared through Kenyans.co.ke article and it should not be considered as a confirmation by any government body.
The people who get hold of this piece of information are expected to stay tuned to government's official communication system in order to get the latest updates.
0 Comments