Kenya’s eCitizen platform, a one-stop shop for Kenyans to access government services online, has been down for a few days now. Four days down and people are starting to ask questions. Kenyans now fear it may be a cyberattack on the eCitizen Platform by Sudanese hackers.

Update

Information, Communication and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo has confirmed that there was a cyber attack on eCitizen.

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“Oh Yes! There was an attack. We are addressing that, we are not just coming up with instant remedial measures to address the current situation. We will build an elaborate risk mitigation framework. To me, that was not strange because cyber attacks are predominant the world over.”

Owalo Said

He goes on to confirm that it was indeed a DDOS attack that slowed down the system. He assures Kenyans that no data was accessed by the hackers and none was lost.

eCitizen, Down

The attack, which supposedly took place on July 25, 2023, has left many Kenyans unable to access essential services. This includes services such as renewing passports, registering businesses, and paying taxes.

Currently, as there has been no official government communication, Kenyans are assuming it is the Sudanese hackers. Reports suggest that they gained access to the eCitizen platform by exploiting a vulnerability in the system. They then flooded the servers with requests. This type of attack, known as a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, can overwhelm a system with so much traffic that it becomes unusable.

Ecitizen is currently using radware for protection against the ddos attack
The problem is radware isn't full proof against a ddos attack
It's easy to still bring down a website pic.twitter.com/W2sWm5SAeA

— Sholla Adam 🇰🇪 (@sholla_adam) July 26, 2023

The Kenyan government has condemned the attack and is working to restore the eCitizen platform. However, it is unclear when the platform will be back up and running. In the meantime, Kenyans are being urged to use alternative channels to access government services.

The attack on the eCitizen platform is a serious security breach. It is also a reminder of the growing threat of cybercrime in Africa. In recent years, there have been a number of high-profile cyberattacks on African governments and businesses.

Impact of the Attack

The attack on the eCitizen platform has had a significant impact on Kenyans. Many people are unable to access essential services, causing inconvenience and frustration. The attack also has financial impacts. Businesses are unable to process payments and conduct other essential transactions.

@eCitizenKenya has been down for 3days and the CS @MoICTKenya is not commenting. @juliusbitok @gava_mkononi delivery is affected by what staffers from ECitizen are saying its "technical hitch".

How safe is ecitizen data? What happened to the @ICTAuthorityKE blockchain project.

— Frank Mengi (@frankmengi) July 26, 2023

The attack is also raising concerns about the security of personal data. The eCitizen platform contains a wealth of personal information about Kenyans. This includes their names, addresses, and identification numbers. If this data has been compromised, it could be used for identity theft or other criminal purposes.

Government Response

The government has set up a task force to investigate the attack and to recommend measures to prevent future attacks. The task force is expected to report its findings in the coming weeks. We’ll update you once we get more information.