Slay the beast of cybercrime early enough
Kenya is among the top 10 African countries as regards incidence of cybercrime.
It is unfortunate that, despite the plethora of legislation—such as the Constitution; Kenyan Information and Communication Act 1998; Computer Misuse and Cyber Crimes Act 2018; and Data Protection Act 2019—cybercrime continues.
Apparently, as more people get hip to e-banking, cybercrime soars. And a substantial number of gullible bank account holders have been taken to the cleaners by cyber fraudsters. Increased internet penetration, online banking, computerisation of services and advancement in swindling have been attributed to ubiquitous cybercriminals, cyberbullying and financial predatory. Moreover, computer illiteracy, ignorance and gullibility of online bankers cannot be ruled out.
While bamboozling of innocent account holders is as old as the hills, the skyrocketing cases of sim swap fraud in the recent past have raised eyebrows and an outcry. According to the “CBK 2021 Banking and Suspension Report”, there has been an increase in cyberattacks relying on weaknesses in the human element within the digital space.
Bank fraud
Paradoxically, despite warning by bankers against sharing sensitive personal information such as ATM passwords, national ID number and date of birth with people masquerading as bank officials, the menace continues unabated. Sim swap heists, phishing and online fraud have become rampant. Worse, cybercrime gangs are a thorn in the flesh for the banks, who seem unable to deter the haemorrhage of funds from customers’ accounts.
According to the National Kenya Computer Incident Response Team’s Coordination Centre, Kenya is among the top 10 African countries as regards incidence of cybercrime. The centre deleted 43 per cent more cyber threats, or 158.4 million, in the year to June 2021, up from 110.89 million in 2020.
Impersonation
Cyberattacks and money laundering have become a common phenomenon. Cybercriminals have an inclination to impersonate the account holder through sim swap, hence access to mobile bank accounts. Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) figures show cybercrime incidents increased by over 50 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 56.2 million from 35.1 million reported in 2020.
Vyacheslav Zakorzhevsky, head of the anti-malware research team at Kaspersky Lab, admonishes that cybercriminals are continually looking for new ways to exploit and defraud consumers and that’s why it is important for internet users to remain vigilant. It behoves account holders, especially those who transact online, to protect their personal and confidential information found in ATM cards, mobile banking PINs or passwords to deter being robbed of their mobile money wallets.
Additionally, cybersecurity measures such as securing network devices, implementing firewall technologies, implementing tools like Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA), securing the local area network (LAN) and implementing intrusion detection and prevention could stop cybercrime.
Mr Muthama is a business and strategic management lecturer at JKUAT, consultant and author.
