Cyber threats detected in Kenya declined to 139.8 Million at the end of June this year from 187.8 million cases at the end of March 2023, according to the latest statistical bulletin from the Communication Authority of Kenya.
This is a 25.6% decline. Authorities in Kenya’s ICT sector attribute this fall to a surge in issued cyber threats advisories which increased to 10.7 Million between April and June 2023 compared to 3.6 Million such advisories in the third quarter covering January and March 2023.
Cyber attack incidents reported
According to this fourth quarter and 2022/23 statistical reports, the Communication Authority of Kenya lists the nature of cyber threats reported during the period under review as Malware 12.3 million incidences, DDOS/Botnet 7.6million, Web Application Attacks with 78,411 cases detected and System Vulnerabilities 119.7 million detections, bring the total cyber threats detected to 139.8 million.
This report also shows a decline in the number of Kenyans with feature phone devices from 33.5 million in March 2023 to 32.1 million in June 2023. However, smartphone owners in Kenya rose 4.4% from 29.5 million to 30.8 million during the period under review.
As of 30th June 2023, mobile money subscriptions declined to stand at 38.0 million, representing a penetration level of 75.1%. CA attributes this fall to the launch and high uptake of the state-run Hustler Fund, which offers Kenya’s without access to formal financial services with access to credit through their mobile phone. CA says the trend has since normalized following a sharp peak in Hustler Fund in December 2022.
Active mobile (SIM) subscriptions in Kenya grew by 0.6% to 66.4 million as at 30th June 2023, from 66.1 million recorded in Q3. This translated to a mobile (SIM) penetration rate of 131.3%.
CA attributes this slow growth in mobile subscriptions during the year to the SIM registration exercise that kicked off in February 2022 with a deadline of October 2022 which resulted in the deactivation of unregistered SIM cards.
Safaricom remains the most dominant player in the mobile phone business with 42,761,854 pre-paid subscribers followed by Airtel (17,982,119), Telkom Kenya (2,511,344), Finserve(Equitel)-1,501,749 and Jamii Telecom (411,549).
Safaricom also leads with 1, 166,545 pre-paid subscribers followed by Airtel (92,457) and Telkom Kenya (11,543). Safaricom had the largest market share in fixed data subscriptions with a market share of 36.2% or 427,003 data subscriptions followed by Jamii Telecommunications (23.7%), Wananchi Group Kenya Limited (21.6%), Poa Internet Kenya (12.3%) Liquid Telecommunications (1.2%), Mawingu Networks (1.8%), Dimension Data Solutions East Africa (1.3%), Vilcom Network Limited (0.7%), Telkom Kenya (0.4%) or 4,382 subscribers and Others (9,859) subscribers or 0.8% of the market.
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