Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge on Friday presided over the launch of Kaa Chonjo campaign which is an initiative of Kenya Bankers Association in partnership with VISA, Safaricom, Retail Trade Association of Kenya (retrak), Consumer Grassroots Association and Pesalink.
The campaign is a consumer awareness program which runs through May to sensitize consumers and institutions on the increased cybersecurity threats which poses a huge hindrance to the financial sector.
In his remarks, the CBK Governor noted that the stakeholders should change tact in the way they handle such threats by collaboratively using synchronized strategies to contain the risks, he pointed out that the campaign should emphasize on the stakeholders first who later empower their clients.
He further advised financial institutions to be more keen with their key assets, especially the staff, whom he said could be turning a liability. Citing few cases, he noted that most of the attacks are likely to be perpetuated from within, he called upon banks to carefully vet its staff at the entry point and also come up with ‘insider threat programs’ as well as monitoring of staff behaviour.
He also noted that increased outsourcing of service providers could be a huge hindrance to cyber risks since most of them are not well versed with the control policy of the institution.
“Institutions presume that third party service providers connections are safe, they should adhere to set of guidelines aligned to cyber security prevention and also minimize backdoor entry while conducting their services,” he said.
He reiterated the huge risks posed by a single attack saying there are approximately 3 Million reported cyber threats reported in Kenya with 90% of cyber attacks perpetrated through phishing.
“Staff need to be aware of this risk. It only takes one click and malware can infect your computer, it has become a top priority, so long as the financial sector uses technology, these threats are here to stay.” he said.
“Financial bodies should not only focus on the growth of the business but also direct its financial resources towards cybersecurity threats; no institution is immune to the risks. Cybercriminals are organized and hire the best people; you do not need to go the dark web to see them,” he added.
On his part, KBA CEO Dr Habil Olaka noted that the initiative seeks to facilitate sustainable development in the commercial space owing to the increased payments online saying that banks should channel more resources to contain fraud.
In a panel discussion, Nita Omanga, the Director of risk at VISA East Africa said that banks should use data analytics to curb the threats saying that analyzing data can enable banks to look at customers trends.
Victor Ndlovu, VISA Country Manager also reiterated that tackling fraud should be done in partnership because criminals are more organized across borders.
