Kenya Detected 2.5 Billion Cyber Threats in Q1 2025

Kenya’s booming ICT sector is facing a dramatic spike in cyber threats, according to the latest Sector Statistics Report by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), covering January to March 2025.

The report reveals an alarming 201.7% increase in cyber threat detections by the National Kenya Computer Incident Response Team (KE-CIRT), reaching a record 2.5 billion threats within the quarter.

This surge coincides with Kenya’s broader digital transformation, which saw unprecedented growth in mobile subscriptions, mobile money services, and broadband access.

However, the growing digital adoption is increasingly becoming a target for cybercriminals exploiting financial, personal, and infrastructural vulnerabilities.

The number of cyber threat advisories issued by KE-CIRT rose by 14.2% to 13.2 million, highlighting the increasing volume and complexity of malicious activities targeting individuals, businesses, and government institutions.

The spike in incidents suggests a widening attack surface due to expanded connectivity and the proliferation of smart devices.

With mobile money subscriptions hitting 45.36 million and mobile broadband users growing to 44.44 million, cybercriminals are expected to shift tactics towards financial fraud, SIM swap attacks, and phishing schemes targeting digital wallets and personal data.

The situation is further intensified by rising machine-to-machine (M2M) connections and IoT adoption, which introduce new vectors for compromise.

The report also notes a total of 109,251 registered dot.ke domains, a critical national asset that requires constant monitoring to prevent abuse, domain hijacking, and DNS-based attacks.

Already, cybersecurity professionals have cautioned against increasing domain-based attacks as attackers continue to leverage AI tools to power Domain Generation Algorithms (DGA).

As Kenya’s ICT sector continues to grow, authorities warn that cybersecurity must remain a top priority to safeguard trust, resilience, and continuity across digital platforms.