The official website of the Kenyan presidency has been temporarily suspended following a cyberattack involving a ransom demand. The government acknowledged the occurrence of an "incident," which prompted the decision to take the site offline for precautionary reasons.
Ransom Demands and Political Messaging
According to Kenyan media reports, messages targeting President William Ruto appeared on the website during the breach. The hackers demanded a ransom of 5 bitcoin, valued at approximately €280,000, and threatened to leak unspecified information if their demands were not met.
Government Response and Security Assurance
Information Minister William Kabogo Gitau refrained from explicitly using the term "cyberattack," instead referring to the situation as an "incident." He stated that access was suspended to facilitate the investigation by authorities and the restoration of the page. "For precautionary reasons, access to the presidency's website is temporarily suspended," Gitau noted.
The minister assured that there is currently no evidence suggesting that sensitive information or data was accessed. He further emphasized that the government's digital services remain "secure and functional." This event follows a series of cyberattacks that targeted several Kenyan ministries last November.
