Kenya’s Appalling Wave of Cyberattacks 

Across the world, businesses and governments are being forced to content with the ever-growing threat of cybercrime, and cybercrime-related fraud. These new threats represent an unprecedented threat to business and consumers alike. 

However, cybercrimes and fraud pose an especially large threat in Africa. As the continent grows and becomes home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world, Africa is increasingly having to contend with increasing waves of cyberattacks and financial fraud. 

One such example is Kenya, which is racing to become a technological leader in Africa. The nation’s consequentially massive investment in the IT sector has seen domestic businesses in Kenya to embark on a race to digitalize their services. This race has exposed Kenya’s IT sector, and by extension most of its economy, to malicious cyber actors.

Kenya has suffered a record of 860 million cyberattacks in the last 12 months, compared to 7.7 million in 2017 – a shocking 11,068.8% increase. 

Although Kenya’s increase in cyberattacks is incredibly high, other nations across the world are also experiencing record-high levels of cybercrime and cybercrime-related fraud. 

Rapidly Growing Threats – Cybercrimes, Fraud and Social Engineering 

Social engineering fraud – phishing, smishing and vishing, for example – has become intrinsically linked with cybercrime. 

The FBI’s Internet Crime Report details the immense growth of social engineering fraud. In 2017, the FBI recorded 25,344 incidents of social engineering fraud. By 2021, this number had grown to 323,972 – a shocking 1,178% increase in only five years. Furthermore, of the 847,376 total complaints of cybercrimes made to the FBI in 2021, 32.8% of them referenced a form of social engineering. 

The rapid increase of cyberattacks, fuelled as they are by social engineering, clearly demonstrate the ever-increasing importance of verified and trusted identities. As companies increasingly digitalize their services and customer relations, verified identities as a means for risk mitigation is becoming indispensable. 

New Legislation – Regulatory Compliance Obligations for Data Privacy 

In every country, each wave of cyberattacks brings growing calls for greater anti-cybercrime and data privacy legislation. The same is true for Kenya. The record-breaking number of cybercrimes plaguing Kenya’s economy have led to reinforced calls for new legislation that can better regulate data protection and digital security. 

New legislation will place new pressures on the financial services industry as affected businesses are obligated to take tougher action to protect their consumers against external threats – a pathway to more stringent data protection legislation that is similar to that of South Africa. 

South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act has established the country as a leader on the African continent for data protection legislation. Combined with other Acts like the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act (FICA), South Africa boasts an increasingly well-developed portfolio of AML/CFT and data privacy and security legislation. 

When doing business in a country and ensuring regulatory compliance, it is important to employ experts in the relevant country who are best equipped to operate within the nexus of legislation, law enforcement and economic realities while delivering high-quality and cost-effective solutions for ensuring regulatory compliance. 

Identity Verification and Enhanced Due Diligence Services for South Africa 

When verifying identities and ensuring regulatory compliance, it is important to employ experts in the specific country who are best equipped to operate within the nexus of legislation, law enforcement and economic realities while delivering high-quality and cost-effective solutions for ensuring regulatory compliance. 

As South Africa’s leading provider of world-class due diligence and remote-onboarding solutions, ThisIsMe is proud to be at the forefront of a trust-based and privacy-compliant digital world. To experience how our full suite of KYC, advanced due diligence services, risk assessment and data validation services can help your business adapt to a rapidly evolving threat landscape, book a demonstration by contacting our team here.