Kenya’s government is playing down fears after several State websites were hit by a cyberattack this week, insisting that no sensitive information was exposed and that services are largely back online.
Speaking in Baku, Azerbaijan, on the sidelines of a global telecommunications conference, Information, Communication and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo said the attack was “a simple zero-day incident” that briefly redirected government domains but did not penetrate data systems.
“We haven’t lost any data, we haven’t had any data compromise. Most of the sites are up and running, so there’s nothing to worry about. These things do happen, but we’re on top of it,” said CS William Kabogo.
The breach, detected on Monday, left several ministry websites displaying defaced pages with extremist slogans and coded white supremacist messages. Screenshots circulated online showed phrases such as “Access denied by PCP” and other racist insignia, raising concern over the State’s digital defences at a time when Kenya is pushing many public services online.
Among the affected portals were those of the Interior, Health, Education, Environment, Energy, Labour, and Water ministries. For several hours, users were unable to access routine services, prompting speculation about the scale of the intrusion.
Kabogo maintained that the disruption was contained quickly, and that the ministry’s technical teams had restored normal operations for most sites.
Earlier, Internal Security Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo had issued a similar assurance from Nairobi, saying the government had moved into “continuous monitoring” mode. He warned that the attackers would “face the full force of the law” once identified.
“The situation has been contained,” he said, adding that State agencies were now coordinating to find the source of the breach and seal gaps within the system.
PS Omollo condemned the hack as a violation of local and international standards, citing Kenya’s cybercrime, data protection, and communications laws.
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