Nairobi, November 2025 Safaricom says it has reduced cyber incidents among its enterprise customers by nearly 90 percent, a milestone the Kenyan telco attributes to a more proactive and sophisticated security strategy. The announcement came during Safaricom’s Cybersecurity Summit 2025, an event that brought together government officials, industry leaders, and regulatory bodies to discuss the rapidly intensifying threat landscape in the country.
The reduction comes against a backdrop of increasing cyber threats in Kenya. Data from the Communications Authority of Kenya shows that in the second quarter of 2025 alone, the country faced 4.6 billion cyber threat events ranging from ransomware and phishing to massive system vulnerabilities. Safaricom’s Chief Corporate Security Officer, Nicholas Mulila, emphasized that traditional preventive approaches are no longer sufficient. Companies must now embed security into the design of their digital systems and adopt resilience-focused strategies, including zero-trust architectures that never implicitly trust identities, human or machine.
Safaricom’s progress is credited to the expansion of its 24/7 Managed Security Operations Centre, which monitors, detects, and responds to threats in real time, as well as efforts to educate partners and clients on best practices. The telco has also promoted ecosystem-wide collaboration, working with government agencies and private sector players to make cybersecurity a strategic priority rather than just a technical concern.
Government representatives, including John Tanui, Principal Secretary for the State Department for ICT and the Digital Economy, praised Safaricom’s approach, noting that Kenya’s national cybersecurity strategy is evolving toward proactive, security-by-design models. The shift underscores that cybersecurity is increasingly seen as a critical enabler of Kenya’s digital economy, where mobile connectivity and digital financial services form the backbone of daily life.
The implications are significant. For Safaricom’s enterprise clients, fewer cyber incidents restore trust, reduce operational risks, and potentially lower compliance costs. For the broader economy, a more secure digital environment strengthens confidence in technology adoption and can safeguard critical infrastructure.
