Government Websites Restored After Major Cyber-attack, Officials Say
By Chemtai Kirui || Kass Digital
NAIROBI, Nov 18 —Access to several government websites was temporarily disrupted this week after hackers broke into official portals and plastered them with extremist messages, prompting emergency response teams to restore services.
The breach targeted multiple ministries and state agencies, including Health, Education, Labour, Tourism, Environment, ICT, Water and Interior, as well as State House, Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo said.
On Monday, visitors to the affected sites saw disturbing messages such as “Access denied by PCP,” “We will rise again,” “White power worldwide,” and “14:88 Heil Hitler,” a neo-Nazi slogan used by racist extremist groups in Europe and the US.
Omollo said the government activated its incident response procedures immediately after the attack was detected.
Technical teams worked with stakeholders to restore access, and by Nov. 17, most sites were confirmed to be back online.
Preliminary investigations suggest the attackers identified themselves as a group calling itself “PCP@Kenya.”
The hacker group embedded a link to a Telegram channel in the defaced pages, reportedly boasting over 150 subscribers.
Omollo warned that those responsible would face prosecution, citing possible violations of multiple laws including the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, the Kenya Information and Communications Act, and the Data Protection Act.
He added that the government is now closely monitoring its digital infrastructure and intends to strengthen cyber defences to prevent future attacks.
While service disruptions lasted several hours, Omollo assured the public that no personal or sensitive data was breached, according to the Ministry of ICT.
Cybersecurity experts say that the attack shows both tactical sophistication and ideological motives.
The use of white supremacist symbols and slogans suggests the incident may be as much about propaganda as it is about disruption.
Authorities have urged citizens to remain vigilant and report any suspicious online activity through official channels — including the national Computer Incident Response Team (KE-CIRT/CC), the National Cybercrimes Coordination Committee (NC4), and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
