Eliud Owalo, the cabinet secretary for information, communication, and the digital economy, has revealed that the eCitizen portal was the target of a hacking attempt.
Owalo verified the security breach that was disclosed this week during an interview on Spice FM.
“Oh yes! Given the prevalence of cyberattacks worldwide, I did not find that strange,” Owalo remarked.
“A crime was committed. We are taking care of it,” he continued, “and instead of merely devising quick fixes for the problem at hand, we’ll create a sophisticated framework for risk reduction.”
The ICT CS continued by outlining what transpired during the most recent attack.
“They attempted to jam the system by sending it more than usual queries. We deal with it. It started by slowing down the system,” he said.
The CS guaranteed that none of the information was lost or obtained by the hackers.
According to Owalo, such occurrences highlight the necessity for ongoing service digitalization and shouldn’t impede the nation’s adoption of cutting-edge technology solutions.
To guarantee lasting digitization, the emphasis should be on creating a strong framework for minimising risks.
“Because we are cautious about taking risks,” Owalo remarked, “We are unable to cease digitising the information we have and transforming our services.”
He said that in order to protect the system from subsequent information breaches, the Ministry has implemented strict security procedures.
The CS said that the authorities have established a multifunctional team in charge of constantly tracking international cyber security trends in order to significantly strengthen the nation’s cyber defence abilities.
To maintain the robustness of the country’s internet systems, this team will study international best practises in cyber threat reduction and implement suitable risk mitigation strategies.
Kenyans’ reports of being unable to use eCitizen this week sparked worries of a cyberattack on the programme.
Many individuals said they were still unable to use e-citizen services as of the time of publication.
Over 5,000 government-related offerings from ministries, county governments, and organisations are available on the platform in a single location.
