Kenya among countries exposed to increased cyber-attacks

ISACA vice president George Kisaka during the annual Governors, Risk and Compliance conference in Naivasha. [Antony Gitonga, Standard]

Kenya has been ranked as among one of the countries in Africa that face an acute shortage of cyber-security risk professionals thus exposing entities to increased cases of cyber-attacks.

According to stakeholders, cyber threats are evolving as the demand for digital services explode but the internal capabilities are struggling to keep pace.

This emerged during the annual Governors, Risk and Compliance (GRC) conference in Naivasha organized by Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA).

According to the association Vice-President George Kisaka, a survey conducted in the continent noted that there was a massive deficit of cyber security professionals.

He admitted that the country and region could not meet the requirements of cyber security defense even as cases of cyber-attacks continued to rise.

“We are working with partners and various educational institutions to capacity-build, to grow the skills in cyber security, in defense, in data protection in order to ward this off,” he said.

Addressing the press, Kisaka said the continent could use the high number of unemployed youths by training them in technical and vocational education and training colleges.

“We are about to release about 250 graduates from various TVETs in the country who are well-skilled with AI skills, cyber-security skills and data protection skills,” he said.

On cyber threats, he noted that artificial intelligence (AI) had increased cases of cyber-attacks with the bad actors using the space to infiltrate systems.

“The people who are responsible for defending our organizations, corporates and industries against these cyber threats, need to be well-versed with AI,” he said.

Cyber risk insurance, alternatively referred to as cyber insurance or cyber liability insurance plays a vital role by providing coverage for a wide range of cyber risks.[iStockphoto]

The director, Autonomous Data Safaricom PLC Denish Sadda noted that with AI, institutions like banks and health facilities should brace for more attacks.

He said that risk professionals should make sure that data was safe adding that technology brought opportunities and risks together.

“There will be a lot of attempts to attack institutions and hence the need for better skilled professionals to make sure it is guarded and there are no breaches,” he said.

“Because the risks that technology and opportunities bring, they also come with some risks that as a society we need to respond to and to deal with them,” he said.

A data expert Jimmy Couvaras from Zambia noted that AI was relatively new in their country though they were keen to fully embrace it.

“AI has a lot of promise, but there are also risks that we must watch out for and such kind of engagement in addressing these opportunities and challenges,” he said.