NAIROBI, Kenya July 18 -The government has confirmed that the official website of President William Ruto was targeted in a cybersecurity incident, prompting authorities to temporarily shut down access as forensic investigations and recovery efforts continue.

📻 Breaking It Down

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy said the incident was detected by the ICT Authority, which immediately activated its cybersecurity response protocols to contain the breach.

“As a precautionary measure, access to the Presidential website was temporarily restricted to facilitate containment, forensic analysis and restoration efforts,” ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo said.

The official State House website was allegedly hacked, with the homepage defaced and replaced by messages targeting President William Ruto.The hackers are demanding a ransom in Bitcoin equivalent to approximately Ksh.41 million.

📌 What You Need to Know

The website, president.go.ke, showed that its official content had been replaced with demeaning messages directed at the Head of State.

The confirmation comes after users reported being unable to access the President’s official website, raising concerns over a possible cyberattack targeting one of the country’s key government digital platforms.

According to the ministry, mitigation measures have already been implemented and work to restore the website is ongoing.

Officials, however, sought to reassure the public that there was no indication that sensitive government information had been compromised.

“At this time, there is no evidence of unauthorized access to sensitive data, data exfiltration, or loss of information. Government systems and digital services remain secure and operational,” CS Kabogo noted.

The ministry said the ICT Authority is collaborating with relevant government agencies and technical partners to establish the nature of the incident and determine those behind it.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya