Nairobi, Kenya, Nov 24- The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution’s (ODPP) official Facebook account has been hacked.
The ODPP confirmed the hacking on its Twitter account late Tuesday and assured that plans to restore the account were underway.
“We wish to inform members of the public that our Facebook page has been temporarily hacked and we are working towards resolving the issue,” the ODPP said.
The hackers renamed the ODPP’s Facebook account Fam Hâm Mộ Của QuanCon and went forward to repost the tweet on the Facebook page shortly after the ODPP made the confirmation.
The identity of the hackers is yet to be established.
The attack comes three weeks after Kenya officially launched the National Computer and Cyber Crimes Co-ordination Committee (NCCCC) as part of its wider efforts to combat the rising cybercrime threats across the globe.
Speaking in Nairobi on November 3, the Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said the committee which comprises representatives from security agencies, the Central Bank of Kenya, the Office of The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) among others, will play key roles in ensuring the country’s safety with the ever-evolving cyber world.
The NCCC is tasked with consolidating action on the detection, investigation and prosecution of cybercrimes.
“The Cybercrime industry the last time I checked was about 13 billion US dollar industry and it has probably grown beyond that. Nations around the world are pumping resources into research because the truth of the matter is this, whether we like it or not, from now until probably we exit this universe our lives are going to be influenced by 3D’s, data, devices and designs,” Matiangi said.
Matiangi said the newly formed Secretariat will prioritize the misuse of social media which he described as a major threat to national security and integration.
ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru who also spoke at the event said that the operationalization of the committee was timely in the quest to protect the country’s critical information infrastructure.
Mucheru stated that technological advancements in the country calls for more serious investment in the cyber security sector for the sake of online safety of individuals and institutions.
“You are aware the other day Facebook faced challenges, some people interfered with their systems, We are vulnerable to such systems if we don’t have strong laws and people whose day to day job is focused on making sure that our infrastructure and our systems are working,” he said.
Mucheru pointed out that the new law was necessary to support the digital economy and called for its stringent application.
