Cybersecurity is not a new issue, but the stakes are getting higher. The scale of regulatory penalties is growing, and customers—consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations alike—are becoming more sensitive to the issue. In the past, many consumers saw little difference between the security postures of the companies—such as banks and retailers—pursuing their business, and so it didn’t sway their loyalty. That’s changing, and consequently lots of companies are responding by making security and data privacy central to their value proposition.

For more than a decade, Verizon has published some of the preeminent reports on cybersecurity, including the Data Breach Investigations
Report (DBIR). This is the fourth edition of the Mobile Security Index. As the name suggests, it focuses on the threats to mobile devices; what
defenses companies have in place to thwart these attacks; and how often those fail, leading to a mobile-related compromise.

One of the key themes of the 2020 Mobile Security Index was mal-innovation. We talked about how cybercriminals were constantly finding new and often imaginative ways to carry out attacks. In another life, where their motives weren’t nefarious and the outcomes not so damaging to so many, the creativity and ingenuity shown by some of the attackers would merit fame and accolades.

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This report assesses the extent to which the public participated in three recent ICT policy and law-making processes. These include
the National Information Communications and Technology (ICT) Policy, 2019, the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, and the Data
Protection Act, 2019.

While the principle of public participation is listed under Article 10 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 as one of the national values and principles of governance, the approach taken by state bodies in the ICT sector to facilitate public participation has been varied. Despite
progress in the past decade, such as the promotion of greater stakeholder engagement, better documentation and information sharing, hosting public county meetings, and making stakeholders’ inputs on publicly accessible platforms, challenges still remain.

The processes have been primarily initiated, dominated and executed by the state and its agents, in its capacity as the primary duty-bearer. However, while decisionmaking powers may rest with the government, there is an onus placed on the government to facilitate public participation.

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