Kenya’s Cybersecurity Experts Examine AI Threats at the Safaricom Cybersecurity Summit
Technology leaders, policymakers and cybersecurity experts gathered in Nairobi on Wednesday for the 4th Annual Safaricom Cybersecurity Summit, where discussions centered on artificial intelligence’s dual role as both a powerful defensive tool and a driver of sophisticated new threats.
The event, held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Westlands and organized by Safaricom PLC under the theme “Harnessing AI, Strengthening Security,” examined risks including deepfakes, automated scams and ransomware.
Technical breakout sessions made up roughly 70% of the day’s practical curriculum, emphasizing hands-on strategies to counter emerging automation threats.
Keynote speakers at the 4th Annual Safaricom Cybersecurity Summit included Hon. William Kabogo, Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, who outlined the Kenyan government’s approach to the country’s evolving digital landscape and AI-related risks.
Dr. Peter Ndegwa, Group Chief Executive Officer of Safaricom PLC, stressed the need for enterprises to prioritize “security by design” rather than relying on reactionary technical fixes.
Dr. Simon Bransfield-Garth, Chief Executive Officer of Akili AI, delivered an international keynote on “The AI Governance Imperative: Trust, Risk and Opportunity.” Mr. Nicholas Mulila, Group Chief Risk Officer at Safaricom PLC, provided analysis of enterprise risk data, noting a 29% rise in threat landscape events across Kenya.
Technical sessions were led by Safaricom and major global technology partners. Safaricom’s in-house team hosted a live demonstration titled “Securing AI: Where Does Your Data Go?” in the Main Ballroom.
Engineers showed client-side prevention and server-side tracking methods to protect the AI data lifecycle, highlighting risks from vulnerable internal applications and exposed corporate device lists that can leave databases open to automated account compromises.
Cloudflare’s masterclass, led by Senior Partner Engineer Ozzie Khawaja, focused on architectural digital resilience. The session explored building a single “Connectivity Cloud” that integrates secure corporate connectivity, Zero Trust network access and application shielding.
Huawei’s Network Resiliency Track addressed automated backend infrastructure, detailing how to design self-healing networks that use machine learning to detect and patch code vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
KnowBe4’s Human Risk Track examined the human element of defense, demonstrating the use of AI and machine learning behavioral analytics to measure the effectiveness of security culture changes among staff.
Fortinet’s Security Fabric Session covered unified configurations to protect corporate data across cloud environments, email systems and hybrid remote endpoints.
NetScout’s Edge Defence Session mapped the underground cyber-economy, including the monetization of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and ransomware-as-a-service, while outlining real-time edge defenses against large-scale bot attacks.
Additional speakers and panelists included Ben Mann, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft’s Africa Development Center, who discussed safe AI adoption frameworks and Graham Turnbull of Cloudflare, who addressed cyber infrastructure options for smaller enterprises.
Richard Muthua of Safaricom Business; Dr. Markus Leberecht of Intel; Eugene Wandeya of Stima DT Sacco Society Ltd; and Evalyn Oloo of the Africa Cybersecurity and AI Foundation, who moderated panels on AI compliance.
