Huawei, a Chinese technology company has committed to help Kenya boost its cyber security amid growing threats of digital attacks.
According to Maureen Mwaniki, the Vice-Director of Programs Management at Huawei, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a surge in the number of people who moved to the online space both for work and social reasons.
During the 15th Kenya internet governance forum intended to generate dialogue towards the development of the ICT sector,Mwaniki said, “We have come up with measures that will keep people safe from cyberattacks as they go online,”
She added that its training programs incorporate cyber security to ensure digital citizens can protect their personal data from malicious attacks as well as reduce the risks associated with remote working.
“Even our digital tools such as mobile devices and tablets also have enhanced measures to reduce vulnerability to cyber attacks,” Mwaniki said.
She also said that increased online learning has heightened the risk of children toward cyber attacks.
“Our products can help parents monitor what their children are watching so as to protect minors from harm,” Mwaniki said.
She noted that Huawei also assists its local partners to undertake safety drills to check how prepared they are in case of actual attacks.
Cybercriminals find Africa an attractive scene to stage the attacks as many firms have yet to invest adequately in anti-hacking measures.
Data from the Check Point Research Threat Intelligence Report for Kenya highlights how widespread the problem in the country is and how it could become worse year, with the global average number of weekly attacks being 870.