Safaricom has convened industry leaders at the fourth annual Safaricom Cybersecurity Summit to strengthen Kenya’s cyber resilience and promote responsible artificial intelligence (AI) adoption amid rising digital threats.
Held under the theme “Harnessing AI, Strengthening Security,” the summit brought together stakeholders from across Kenya’s digital ecosystem to examine the growing use of AI in cybersecurity and the risks posed by deepfakes, AI-generated impersonation, automated scams and ransomware.
The summit comes as cyber threats continue to escalate in Kenya. According to the Communications Authority of Kenya, the National Kenya Computer Incident Response Team – Coordination Centre detected 11.12 billion cyber threat events in the last financial year, representing a 29 per cent increase from 8.62 billion recorded in the previous year.
Safaricom Group Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said organisations must integrate cybersecurity into digital services from the outset to ensure that technological advancement is supported by trust and accountability.
“AI is expanding what is possible for businesses and society, but that opportunity must be built on trust,” said Ndegwa, adding that responsible innovation, shared standards and collaboration across sectors are essential to protecting digital services and maintaining customer confidence.
Through expert discussions, live demonstrations and practical scenarios, participants explored how organisations can leverage AI-powered threat detection, strengthen incident response, prepare for ransomware attacks and address the growing cybersecurity skills gap.
The discussions also highlighted the importance of tested response procedures, clear accountability and a security-conscious workforce capable of identifying suspicious activity, verifying high-risk requests and responding effectively to cyber incidents.
As Kenya accelerates its digital transformation, Safaricom reiterated its commitment to strengthening secure digital infrastructure, particularly for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which account for approximately 70 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The company said helping MSMEs safeguard their operations, customer information and digital transactions would enable them to adopt technology confidently, remain competitive and recover faster from cyber incidents.
Safaricom supports businesses through its Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN), which provides secure, reliable and centrally managed connectivity across multiple locations, and its Managed Security Operations Centre (MSOC), which offers continuous threat monitoring, expert analysis and coordinated incident response.
The solutions are designed to give MSMEs access to enterprise-grade cybersecurity capabilities without the cost and complexity of building and managing their own advanced security infrastructure.
Now in its fourth year, the Safaricom Cybersecurity Summit has established itself as a platform for industry dialogue, knowledge sharing and collaboration on digital security in Kenya.
This year’s summit underscored the need for organisations to balance the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence with robust governance, effective security measures and public trust as the country’s digital economy continues to expand.
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