Information Communication and the Digital Economy PS John Tanui has reaffirmed of the government’s commitment to grow the country’s digital economy through enacting a safe and secure cyber space.
Speaking in his office and releasing a Cyber Security Observance Brief, Eng. Tanui pointed out that the digital sphere offers numerous prospects, which is why the nation has set ambitious goals to roll out over 100,000 km of digital infrastructure, digitise its services, and provide digital training and upskilling for its public workforce.
PS Tanui said that the government is working to increase access to this worldwide digital platform, but that the digital network still has to be secured.
“One of the issues is of course data privacy and data protection. The month of October is the month of cyber Security Awareness and it is a very good opportunity for us,” said PS Tanui.
He added, “As a government, we need to ensure that the right digital infrastructure proper ICT policies are in place, legislative frameworks, and even clarity in terms of what we need to do. So we have also put in place the necessary policies to ensure we safeguard this space.”
As part of its efforts to secure its digital domain, the government launched the National Computer and Cyber Crimes Coordination Committee (NC4), the Kenya National ICT Policy, 2019, the Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019, and the Digital Master Plan 2022–2032.
In addition, the PS noted that in an attempt to align with global strategies and improve capacities and knowledge sharing in this new emerging digital space, the government is forging partnerships and forming links with both local and preeminent global centres with expertise on cyber security issues.
“We are working with various institutions and partners to ensure that we keep the sector secure. Institutions like the Communications Authority, ICT Authority and Office of the Data Protection Commissioner within the Ministry we have the NC4 and all of them have the experts who are able to scan the space and give us guidance and warnings wherever there are any risks,” added Tanui.
That being said, the PS demanded adherence to information security-governing ICT standards and continued government cyber security specialists’ capacity building.
He appealed to the citizens to remain vigilant and be cautious of the information they share and the people they interact with where he called on all corporate to relook into their organizational structure and ensure they have a skilled cyber security expert in their workforce.
“The way we are careful when we walk in our street, the same way when we walk in our digital spaces we need to know that there are also risks. It is not every click that appears we should accept, said Tanui.
The PS further noted that the use of the cyber space requires digital skills hence the government is building capabilities within its public institutions and the private sector in an effort to identify cyber threats.
“Finally, I want to encourage us to know this is a great space which presents opportunities to create jobs and wealth. You have seen our young people going to our digital hubs to upskill themselves and earn jobs, it’s very impressive to see persons who have just cleared their colleges or even students earn from 200 to even 2, 000 US Dollars a month in this digital platforms,” said the PS.
“We have seen Business Process Outsourcing centres settled up here in Kenya and employing thousands of young people to work digitally and we want our young people to go into it and equip themselves with the necessary cyber skills and exploit the potentials in this space,” he added.
The enormous implications of cybersecurity for information security, critical infrastructure, economic prosperity, public safety, and international relations continue to make it a global concern for not only governments but also the private sector, tech community, academia, and other non-governmental actors.
According to the most recent Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2023, there has been a noticeable increase in cyberattacks targeting smaller firms, with a spike of up to 36 percent over the past four years.
