Kenya's expanding digital economy is facing mounting pressure from cybercriminals, with a new INTERPOL assessment placing the country among Africa's most targeted nations after tens of thousands of cyberattacks were recorded within just six months.
The report warns that criminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence, fake digital identities and organised cross-border networks to steal money, disrupt services and target critical systems.
The INTERPOL African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026 shows Kenya registered more than 46,786 distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks during the first half of 2025.
Alongside Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Rwanda, Kenya is listed among the region's fastest-growing cybercrime hotspots, driven largely by rising mobile money fraud and the growing use of AI in criminal activities.
According to the report, cybercrime across Africa is no longer limited to isolated online attacks but has grown into organised operations capable of targeting multiple countries at the same time. The use of AI is making attacks faster, easier to launch and more difficult for victims and security agencies to detect.
The assessment found that 55 per cent of reported cybercrime cases across Africa involved AI, while online scams remained the most common form of digital crime. Banks, telecommunications companies and government institutions continue to be the main targets, with cybercrime losses across the continent climbing to $484 million, more than double the amount reported in 2024.
Kenya was also identified among countries recording high phishing activity, where fraudsters impersonate trusted organisations to obtain personal and financial information from unsuspecting victims.
The report says SIM swap fraud has become one of the country's fastest-growing cyber threats. Cases rose by 327 per cent in 2025, with more than 123,000 fraudulent SIM cards issued, allowing criminals to steal an estimated $3.8 million (Sh492 million) from mobile money accounts.
“Tanzania and Rwanda reported similar trends, with telecommunications providers facing challenges in introducing real-time biometric verification,” reads the report.
The Communications Authority of Kenya also reported hundreds of millions of attempted cyber intrusions targeting government and ICT infrastructure between July and September 2025, most of them involving brute-force attacks and attempts to exploit system weaknesses.
INTERPOL says cybercriminals are increasingly relying on AI-generated synthetic identities, which combine genuine personal information with fabricated details to bypass biometric security checks.
“The region’s rapid digital adoption has outpaced its ability to secure it,” INTERPOL warns.
The report also points to the growing role of organised scam syndicates operating across borders.
“These groups use mobile money platforms, social media and AI tools to target victims across Africa and other regions while generating billions of dollars in illegal income,” reads the report.
Although Kenya has introduced legal reforms, including the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Bill 2024 to address SIM swap fraud and scam calls, INTERPOL says weak cooperation between countries continues to create opportunities for criminal networks.
It also notes that delays in coordination between banks, telecommunications firms and law enforcement agencies have slowed efforts to stop fraudulent transactions.
“While financial institutions could detect suspicious transactions, they lacked the legal authority or technical channels to block SIM swaps or freeze accounts without court orders, a process that often took weeks to months,” reads the report.
The assessment draws on information from 49 African member countries, together with findings from law enforcement agencies, cybersecurity units, judicial authorities and private-sector partners.