Promoting Security In Africa Through Effective Counter Cyber Terrorism Strategies

Abstract

At the heart of cyber-attacks is the threat of terrorism, which is trying to achieve a political effect by creating fear in the population. Kenya, as a society, is becoming increasingly dependent on the Internet in everything from political processes to the economy. This makes cyber-attacks an attractive tool for attackers and also increases the likelihood of cyber-terrorism. There are concerns that the counter-terrorism strategies currently used are traditional and aimed at fighting traditional forms of terrorism, which creates a gap in the absence of appropriate strategies to combat cyber-terrorism. It is this academic gap that is being addressed by this study. The objectives of the study are to examine the nature and state of strategies and infrastructures to combat cyber-terrorism; strategies used to combat cyber-terrorism and the overall effects of cyber-terrorism on national security. This study applies the theory of deterrence, a strategy aimed at forcing the opponent to take a certain course of action or to dissuade him from pursuing unwanted goals. Deterrence is a strategy that uses force and is based on temporary threats designed to influence the opponent, or take a certain course of action, or dissuade him from pursuing unwanted goals. The researcher applied the exploratory approach which involves having an idea or observation which requires further understanding. The data findings identified financial/cyber fraud, hacking, identity theft, phishing and cyber stalking/bullying as some of the cybercrimes prevalent in the country. While Kenya has developed cyber security measures and strategies including legal framework as an important step towards creating a reliable milieu for people and businesses, cybercrime has continued to demonstrate resilience to strike against vulnerable targets. The strategies employed include the multi-agency approach; legislative framework that include the enactment of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act (2018) which provides the legal mechanism of dealing with cybercrimes including cyber terrorism; capacity building, training and awareness; collaboration with international partners. The study recommends that all stakeholders, including the private sector, play a more effective role in integrating government efforts to address cyber-terrorism threats.; enhance public participation so that law enforcement agencies get a forum to interact with the public whether online or physically as an opportunity to create awareness on the effects of cyber terrorism and build requisite capacity in the law enforcement team to make them responsive to the digital crimes effectively. Further, it recommends the need to implement surveillance and monitoring systems that enable the government to detect those being radicalized through social media platforms. The legislation and training of officials to counter terrorism financing is also key to countering cyber terrorism while the government could have integrated mechanisms to avoid cyber-attacks and alleviate the effects and accelerate recovery if they occur. Establishing a multi-agency counter cyber unit is considered a better way of handling prevention, detection and recovery from cyber terrorism attack.