Kenya’s recent experience where more than 5,000 digital government services were inaccessible after hacking incidents could be prevented by more deployment of artificial intelligence.

But experts warn this won’t be an absolute defence yet given there are bad sides of AI, including impersonation and falsification of identities, which can make it a potent weapon for adversaries to orchestrate sophisticated cyber-attacks.

Peter French, general manager for the Middle East and Africa at Acronis, a Swiss technology company, says companies should embrace AI-powered cyber protection to safeguard their invaluable digital assets.

“The integration of AI into the fabric of Africa’s digital ecosystems ushers in a new era of opportunities and challenges,” French noted last week.

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In Kenya and Nigeria, financial phishing attempts rose significantly in quarter one and two of 2022 as banks, online payment systems and e-commerce websites were targeted indiscriminately, according to the Acronis End-of-Year Cyber Threats Report 2022.

The data does not include most recent incidents like the hacking of Kenya’s e-Citizen platform last week. But it indicates the trends: Over 100,000 financial phishing attacks were detected in Kenya in Q2 of 2022, a 201 percent increase compared to Q1, with Nigeria reporting over 61,000 financial phishing attacks, an increase of 79 percent from Q1.

Businesses and organisations in these emerging economies have reported numerous cases that range from online scams, digital extortion, business email compromise, ransomware, botnets, espionage, threat to critical infrastructure, and organized crime, among others.

French argues AI can provide a good weapon for cyber protection. But enterprises will need a balance between cost-effective day-to-day operations and a diminished risk of falling prey to cybercriminals, according to InterPol’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report.