Network Outage results in Apps, Bank Systems, Government Services Down
Kenyans and businesses across the country were impacted for most of Thursday due to a technical issue that rendered most important online services inaccessible. Kenya Government Hacking Safaricom
Customers have complained about delays and hassles that have hampered important transactions in their everyday operations, ranging from banks to mobile users.
Some of the main organizations affected have now apologized to their customers for the system outages, assuring them that the issues will be resolved as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the following systems and services are affected:
eCitizen platform
Since Thursday morning, the government’s web portal, which provides access to most services such as Immigration, NTSA, and DCI, has been offline.
ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo confirmed the breakdown, which he said was caused by a cyber attack that occurred within the last week. Kenya Government Hacking Safaricom
The outage impacted a wide range of government activities, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urging all Kenya-bound travelers to acquire VISAs upon arrival due to issues in processing Passport endorsements on the e-Citizen platform.
CS Owalo, on the other hand, has made a separate statement assuaging concerns that government platforms, including the e-Citizen portal, were hacked this week and critical information was acquired by cyber thieves.
He now claims that hackers attempted to overload the e-Citizen interface by making odd queries, but that the security safeguards in place foiled their efforts.
Read More: Elson Musk Starlink Now In Kenya
Kenya Power
Kenya Power announced on Thursday that its online services were inaccessible, affecting token purchases via Safaricom’s M-Pesa as well as the USSD code.
The company explained that this was due to a technical glitch on the part of its service provider.
MySafaricom and M-Pesa Apps
Its mobile applications, which provide access to a variety of financial services, have been mostly inaccessible, with users complaining about problems.
M-Shwari and KCB M-Pesa
Bank to M-Pesa transactions
Most banks that are linked to Safaricom’s M-Pesa service have also reported system difficulties and advised their customers to explore alternative methods of payment such as ATM withdrawals.
Mobile Banking Applications
A number of local banks have also reported system outages in their mobile banking apps, stranding users who rely on the platforms for their transactions.
Banks are now being compelled to urge their customers to use USSD codes, which have also proven to be difficult.
Equity Bank, KCB Bank, DTB Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Stanbic Bank are among the financial firms affected. Kenya Government Hacking Safaricom
Kenya Railways
Kenya Railways has joined a number of other state-owned enterprises in announcing a “system glitch.” In a public statement issued Thursday evening, the airline stated that the alleged hiccup has since impacted ticketing systems.
We are experiencing a system hitch affecting purchase of tickets by customers. This is due to an outage on our service provider’s network.
Kenya Railways Managing Director said in the statement.
Causes of The issue
Hackers known as “Anonymous Sudan,” are responsible for the attack according to ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo in an interview with Spice Fm.
To me, this is not strange because the cyber attack is predominant across the world but there was an attack and we are already addressing that.
he said.
According to Owalo, the hackers attempted to jam the system by sending more than average queries into it with the intention of slowing it down.
According to Owalo, the hackers’ attempt did not result in any unauthorized access to or loss of data from the site.
Check out the latest news here and you are welcome to join our super exclusive iGaming Afrika Telegram Forum for all the latest and breaking news in the African Gambling industry. We would also like to hear from you, Message us on Telegram here or write to [email protected] Kenya Government Hacking Safaricom
