Kenyan President's website hacked: What were the hackers' demands?

The official website of Kenyan President William Ruto has been hit by a cyberattack. Hackers posted insulting messages directed at the president on the homepage and demanded a large amount of cryptocurrency within a set timeframe.

The government confirmed the attack occurred. However, initial investigations into whether confidential data was actually compromised show different results.

The homepage of the president's website was altered

The cyberattack took place on July 18 on the Kenyan President's president.go.ke official website. Instead of the usual government information, messages insulting William Ruto and containing various allegations against him appeared on the site.

The hackers also posted a crypto wallet address on the page, demanding a transfer of five bitcoins. At the time, this amount was equivalent to approximately 41.3 million Kenyan shillings, or nearly $320,000.

Hackers threatened to leak data

The attackers stated that if the payment was not made, they would release information allegedly related to the president to the public.

They set a deadline of 6:00 PM that same day for the transfer. However, it has not been confirmed what kind of information was meant or if the hackers actually managed to breach internal systems.

Defacing the external page of a site does not always mean the confidential database has been compromised. A full technical audit of servers and system logs is required to determine the scope of the attack.

Government confirms the attack

Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, William Kabogo, confirmed that a cybersecurity incident had been recorded on the president's website.

He stated that as soon as the incident was detected, the ICT Authority initiated established emergency protocols. Access to the site was temporarily suspended to contain the attack, conduct digital forensics, and restore the system.

“At this time, there is no evidence that confidential information has been accessed, exfiltrated, or lost,” the minister said.

Kabogo emphasized that other government information systems and digital services continue to operate securely.

Restoration work on the site has begun

IT specialists from the Kenyan President's administration have begun addressing the consequences of the attack and restoring the portal's normal operations.

The messages left by the hackers were removed shortly after, and the site was taken offline for investigation. Government agencies, together with technical partners, are identifying the vulnerability through which the attackers gained access.

The perpetrators behind the attack remain unknown

Kenyan officials have not yet provided information on who carried out the cyberattack. The government also did not disclose whether it intended to pay the funds demanded by the hackers.

The main task of the investigation is to determine whether the incident was limited to the public part of the president's website or if the attackers also breached internal systems.

For now, the hackers' threat to “release confidential information” remains an unproven claim. However, the breach of the president's official website has highlighted the need to further strengthen cybersecurity measures in Kenyan government agencies.