Kenyan based foreign firms risk more cyber crime attacks in 2023 - report

Cybercriminals will go after the big international companies domiciled in the country next year, according to a new report.

The security threats include supply chain attacks, malicious damage to company property and violence against employees.

Dubbed the World Security Report by security firm G4S, and other 1,775 Chief Security Officers drawn across 30 countries globally, it says the firms will face the highest rates of security threats as compared to local ones.

"These could have a serious impact on business continuity for large, global companies operating in Kenya," the report reads.

The rise in supply chain attacks has been anticipated by 33 per cent of the respondents, compared to 26 per cent the previous year.

"Cases of malicious damage to company property are anticipated by 35 per cent of those surveyed, up from 28 per cent who reported experiencing this type of incident last year. 

The CSOs further anticipate a sharp increase in internal security threat of violence against employees; 48 per cent of them expect this to affect their company, up from 39 per cent a year ago. 

"This is well above the expected regional and global averages," the report says.

According to Laurence Okelo, G4S Kenya managing director, Kenya has one of the strongest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, and global companies benefit greatly from operating here. 

"The CSOs therefore, will need to be laser-focused on their security over the coming year given the expected rise in threats across a number of fronts, and the detrimental impact on business continuity when breaches do occur," Okelo said.

"Good security is a strategic imperative as the threats we face become more complex and multi-faceted."

The research found that previous security incidents have had a significant impact on business continuity; at 35 per cent more CSOs in Kenya than in any other country surveyed said their supply chain was disrupted as a result.

More CSOs than in any other country said they faced business interruption costs and a loss of revenue following a security incident and at 37 per cent, Kenya was the second highest country to report a fall in stock price value following a security incident.

Overall, Kenya-based CSOs expect to face some of the highest rates of security threats of all 30 countries surveyed in the next 12 months.

Fraud and misuse of company resources or data are the biggest external and internal concerns respectively. 

Further, the report notes that subversives-hackers, protestors and spies are a greater threat for the coming year than any other country globally, at 63 per cent.

This compares with a regional average of 58 per cent and a global average of 50 per cent. 

Kenya is also the third highest country globally to view economic criminals as a genuine security threat at 63 per cent for the year ahead, according to the experts.