The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is staging the National Cybersecurity Conference in Nairobi. The event started earlier today and will end on 25th October. The launch of the summit was attended by the CS for Ministry of Internal Security Fred Matiang’i, Chairman of the CA Ngene Gituku, its interim CEO Mercy Wanjau.
The nature of cyberspace is known by many: it is a platform that has helped the digitization of several functions of the government and private sector under the management the ICT regulator, but has been a darling to cybercriminals who use the space to attack institutions. Thus the staging of the forum that aims to drive conversations and help in the formulation of policies that will enhance Kenya’s upper hand in cybersecurity.
According to Fred Matiang’i, efforts are underway to harmonize the state’s Policy and Legal Framework on Cybersecurity with global instruments. In addition, the ICT Policy, National Cybersecurity Strategy, and other legislative platforms are under keen review to match their global counterparts in terms of best practices and standards. This statement can be referenced by an earlier suggestion by the ICT Ministry that tasked legislators to include GDPR-like clauses in the Data Protection Bill that is still under deliberations in Parliament.
“Apart from data protection, there are other challenges that touch on the jurisdiction, enforcement framework, technical and professional capacity, and the international cybersecurity standards. This is compounded by different /legal frameworks that guide cybersecurity enforcement and prosecution, lack of uniform community standards across various jurisdictions on internet use,” says Matiang’i.
It has also emerged that during the 2018/2019 fiscal year, the National Computer Incident Response Team and Coordination Centre (National KE-CIRT/CC) that is hosted by the CA detected 52 million cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructure in the country.
“It simply confirms that cybercriminals have a high affinity for data, which they can exchange for a fortune. Data has become the most valuable resource in the world,” notes Ms. Wanjua, CA CEO.
The cybersecurity session will also feature a Hackathon with participants from JKUAT, Strathmore University, Kisii University, UoN, KCA, and Meru University, to mention a few. Winners will be announced on Friday.
