By Frankline Okata, Ag. Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Safaricom PLC
Imagine this, it is 7:00 a.m. The operations team walks in, coffee cups in hand, ready to start the day. But something feels off. The production system is not loading. Orders that were confirmed the night before have disappeared from the dashboard. Emails keep bouncing back, drivers are waiting in the yard because their digital route sheets will not open.
In the scenario, all of this chaos begins from one small but familiar mistake, a single employee account that was compromised because a password had been reused across several platforms.
When I share this example with business leaders, the reaction is often the same. They lean back, think for a moment and say something along the lines of, “It is how fast things can fall apart. We are so focused on growing that we forget how vulnerable everyday moments can be.”
I see this concern when I sit with hospitals trying to protect patient records, SACCOs managing member data, logistics firms running tight delivery schedules and retailers who cannot afford system downtime.
Different sectors, different pressures but the same underlying message: organisations are modernising rapidly, yet their security practices are not always keeping pace.
It is from these conversations that our cybersecurity agenda at Safaricom Business continues to be shaped.
Kenya’s digital landscape is expanding rapidly, driven by cloud adoption, mobile-first services, data-driven decision-making, and connected devices across all sectors. However, this growth has also led to increased cyber threats, many of which target vital systems in finance, energy, healthcare, education, and government. Over the past year, we have seen how disruptive and costly these attacks can be, especially when they target critical information infrastructure.
This reality influenced the discussions at the 2025 Safaricom Cybersecurity Summit. Under the theme “Powering Progress. Securing Growth”, industry leaders agreed on one thing: resilience must now be part of every organisation’s digital strategy. Although businesses are modernising quickly, security practices are not always keeping pace. This gap is exactly where Safaricom is stepping in.
As we head into the festive season, cyberattacks are bound to increase especially in financial institutions as cybercriminals exploit increased online activities and potential drop in vigilance. Global research by cybersecurity firms shows that cyberattacks can increase by about 30% during public holidays and weekends.
At Safaricom Business, we have a front-row seat to the pressures enterprises face in managing increasing data demands, remote teams, online customer platforms and the integration of IoT into daily operations. These advancements drive progress but also create more entry points for attackers, and our role is to ensure organisations remain protected without hindering their momentum.
The first step is clarity. Many companies do not realise the extent of their vulnerabilities, especially if they have outdated systems, insecure devices, weak access controls, or simple misconfigurations. Through our risk assessments, audits, and penetration tests, we help businesses understand their exposure and prioritise fixes that strengthen their defences where it matters most.
With the risks identified, protection becomes practical. Safaricom Business supports enterprises with secure internet filtering, malicious traffic, enterprise firewalls, email and application security, and protection for laptops, phones, and tablets that employees rely on every day. These tools directly address the incidents we regularly see affecting Kenyan businesses, such as credential theft and malware outbreaks.
Stronger systems alone are not enough. Many breaches start with human error. Our cybersecurity awareness training helps employees, including senior leadership, make safer decisions online. Small actions, such as spotting a suspicious email or using stronger authentication, can prevent considerable damage.
When incidents occur, swift action is crucial. Our Managed Security Operations Centre offers real-time monitoring, alerting and response support. Detecting unusual behaviour early helps limit the scope of damage and reduces downtime, which is vital for businesses that rely on continuous service delivery. Supporting these services is a network of global technology partners, including Fortinet, Cloudflare and NetScout, whose capabilities we deploy and adapt to local conditions. This ensures Kenyan organisations benefit from world-class protection, backed by Safaricom’s local expertise and reliability.
Cyber resilience also extends across platforms that enable growth. Our connectivity solutions, such as fibre, dedicated internet, SD-WAN and 5G, include built-in security layers from the outset. As businesses migrate to the cloud, we support them with secure hosting, backup and continuity services. Also, as IoT becomes increasingly central to operations across logistics, utilities, retail, and agriculture, we provide secure SIM management and monitoring to safeguard connected devices.
What sets Safaricom Business apart is the breadth of our defence. We do not just protect the network or individual endpoints; we protect the entire digital ecosystem: connectivity, cloud, devices, applications, payments and IoT. This comprehensive approach is essential as attacks now move effortlessly across systems.
Kenya’s digital progress is strong; however, it must be anchored in security. Organisations that prioritise resilience through better visibility, stronger defences, informed employees, and faster detection are the ones best positioned to grow without interruption.
Safaricom Business will continue to support enterprises on this journey. Our aim is to enable businesses to innovate and grow with confidence, knowing they are protected every step of the way.
Editor’s note: This article is an opinion piece contributed by Safaricom Business. The views expressed are those of the author.
For these and more stories, follow us on X (Formerly Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn and Telegram. You can also send us tips or reach out at [email protected].
