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Kenya to domesticate international cyber crime law

Xinhua, May 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kenya is fast-tracking the process of domesticating international cybercrime law in order to boost online safety in the country, officials said Tuesday.

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) Assistant Manager Robin Busolo told Xinhua in Nairobi that the East African nation plans to ratify the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime which is also known as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime.

"We are prioritizing the domestication of the international law in order to boost efforts against cybercrime through greater international cooperation," Busolo said during the opening ceremony of the Communications Authority Information Technology week.

The Budapest Convention come into force in 2001 but so far only a few African countries have ratified the law.

Busolosaid that the international law will help Kenya to align its law enforcement approach to fighting cybercrime. "It will reduce the legal loopholes that cyber criminals may use to escape justice in Kenya," he said.

He noted that technology has made the world to be a global village. "Currently cybercriminals can attack Kenya from any location in the world," he said.

The communications regulator said that Kenya is vulnerable to cybercrime as more people have access to the internet.

Government data includes that close to 37 million Kenyans have access to the internet mostly through mobile devices.

The East African nation has also formed an inter-agency team to overhaul the cybercrime regime. "We want the new laws to capture emerging crimes that have been brought about by the use of internet," he said.

CA Assistant Manager in charge of Cyber Security Joseph Nzano said that on average Kenya experiences 31,000 cyber attacks per week.

"So we are educating organizations and people on the benefits of having a robust cybercrime strategy," Nzano said. He added that as the amount of internet traffic increases, so does the threat of cyber attacks.

He noted that the borderless nature of internet means that Kenya faces the same cybercrime challenges as the developed world. Endit