Kenya positions cybersecurity as national priority at Safaricom Summit 2025
Date: 2025-11-14
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
Kenya
is positioning cybersecurity as a central pillar of its digital transformation
agenda, Principal Secretary for ICT and the Digital Economy Eng. John Kipchumba
Tanui said at the Safaricom Cybersecurity Summit 2025. Speaking under the theme
“Powering Progress, Securing Growth,” Mr. Tanui underscored the importance of
safeguarding the country’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
According
to him Kenya’s digital economy is growing 2.5 times faster than the physical
economy, with digital services exports nearing $1 billion annually. He said the
rise in cyber incidents makes security a matter of both economic resilience and
national stability. Between July and September 2025, Kenya detected 842 million
cyber threat attempts, a trend he said highlights the urgency of building
secure and reliable digital infrastructure.
The
government, he added has adopted a security-by-design approach since 2023,
integrating cybersecurity into all digital services, platforms and policies and
further noting that public awareness remains critical, with Kenyans now
spending more than four hours online daily. Partnerships with Safaricom and
industry stakeholders, he said, are helping advance digital literacy and
provide user-friendly security tools to protect citizens’ data and financial
transactions.
The
Principal Secretary for ICT also pointed to Kenya’s connectivity strengths,
noting that eight submarine cables and strong terrestrial networks continue to
anchor innovation across key sectors including finance, healthcare and
agriculture. He emphasised the economic potential of cybersecurity, referencing
3.5 million global job opportunities in the field and identifying it as an area
where Kenya can expand local expertise and enterprises.
The
summit brought together senior Safaricom leadership, including Chief Corporate
Security Officer Nicholas Mulila, Chief Financial Services Officer Esther
Masese Waititu and Acting Chief Enterprise Business Officer Frankline Okata.
Tanui said their involvement demonstrated the value of public-private
collaboration in strengthening Kenya’s digital resilience.
He
reiterated the government’s commitment to securing the digital ecosystem,
building trust, supporting job creation and ensuring that the benefits of
technology-driven growth are shared across the country.
