Prepare for the Surge of Cyber Attacks in Kenya This Festive Season

Given the sharp rise in cybercrime activity over the last seven months, current threat analyses reveal a critical vulnerability period in Kenya during the festive season from November 2025 to January 2026.

At this time, adversaries are planning to exploit both individuals and organisations to take advantage of increased digital transaction volumes and anticipated reductions in staff capacity during the holiday season.

The report forecasts that failure to implement decisive countermeasures could result in substantial financial exposure, with potential daily losses in the financial and retail sectors estimated to reach up to KES 15 million.

Key Findings

1. High-Risk Services - Financial, Retail, E-commerce, and BPO services.
2. Estimated Financial Impact - Potential daily losses may surpass KES 15 million due to incidents of fraud, operational downtime, and recovery efforts.
3. Dominant Attack Vector - Phishing remains the primary way adversaries gain access.

Key Threats to Watch Out For

1. Malicious QR codes at payment booths.
2. NFC "ghost taps" for sneaky micro-transactions in crowded public spaces
3. Homograph URLs mimicking legit sites for credential theft
4. Package delivery scams via SMS/email
5. API exploits flood web apps with malicious traffic
6. Fileless Attacks using Matrix Push C2 to push malicious browser notifications.

Immediate Action Required

1. For organisations - Please implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) and rate limiting for all public-facing web applications, validate your Holiday Incident Response Rota and ensure compliance with KE-QR Standard 2023.
2. For consumers - Be cautious of offers that appear too appealing to be true; always compare them with market prices. Use secure QR code scanners that can identify malicious links, and ensure you request a receipt for every major purchase.

For a comprehensive understanding of the tactics used by adversaries and actionable steps to secure your critical systems, please access the full report.

For more information, or to report a breach, contact us:

Submit a report via email to: [email protected]