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Kaspersky maps Artificial intelligence (AI) and the evolving threat landscape at AI Everything Kenya x GITEX Kenya

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Kaspersky

Kaspersky data demonstrates that in 2025, password stealer attacks increased by 83% year-over-year in Kenya and 56% across Sub-Saharan Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 19, 2026/APO Group/ –At AI Everything Kenya x GITEX Kenya, taking place from 19-21 May, global cybersecurity company, Kaspersky (www.Kaspersky.co.za), talks about the current threat landscape in Kenya and the wider East Africa region, warning that the rapid development and adoption of artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities for innovation while simultaneously introducing cyberthreats for businesses and individual users. With risks varying from AI-powered social engineering campaigns and deepfake fraud to “Shadow AI” risks inside organisations, Kaspersky advises organisations to adopt clear policies, cybersecurity controls and employee education to ensure AI technologies are deployed safely and responsibly.

 

“As organisations in Kenya and the wider region accelerate digital transformation, cybersecurity is becoming a board-level priority. We are seeing growing awareness that innovation and security must develop hand in hand. Industry events such as GITEX play an important role in this process by helping businesses better understand both the impressive opportunities AI and digital technologies create, and the precautions needed to manage the evolving cyber risks that come with them,” says Chris Norton, General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at Kaspersky.

 

Cyberthreat landscape developments

 

AI risks come amid other cybersecurity challenges of the evolving threat landscape in the region. Kaspersky data demonstrates that in 2025, password stealer attacks increased by 83% year-over-year in Kenya and 56% across Sub-Saharan Africa. Spyware attacks grew by the same figure of 83% in Kenya and 53% regionally, while backdoor attacks rose by 25% in Kenya and 8% across Sub-Saharan Africa. Although exploit attacks showed a slight decline, they remain a major concern due to their mass spread and unauthorised access they open to a users’ systems. Meanwhile, ransomware continues to pose a serious risk to organisations, with 7.62% of organisations in Africa experiencing ransomware detections in 2025.

 

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) remain among the most serious risks for enterprises. According to the Kaspersky Security Services Global Report, APT groups were detected and blocked in 21% of customers in 2025 and accounted for 23% of all high-severity incidents. These highly organised groups increasingly combine AI-enhanced techniques with social engineering and targeted intrusion methods to maximise operational effectiveness.

 

Cybersecurity traps of AI

 

According to Kaspersky experts, cybercriminals can use AI across multiple stages of cyberattacks: from preparation and communication to assembling malicious components, probing for vulnerabilities and deploying tools, while simultaneously concealing evidence of AI involvement to complicate investigations and attribution. Malicious actors are also actively distributing malware disguised as AI tools to steal sensitive information from victims.

 

One of the growing cybersecurity issues is the spread of deepfakes and AI-generated fraudulent content. As AI tools become more and more sophisticated, distinguishing authentic material from manipulated ones is becoming more difficult. Kaspersky researchers warn that AI models can also be vulnerable to “unintended memorisation”, where models retain fragments of sensitive information that attackers may later extract. Additional risks include malicious tampering with training datasets, injection of harmful logic into AI software code and exploitation of vulnerabilities within AI-powered systems.

As organisations in Kenya and the wider region accelerate digital transformation, cybersecurity is becoming a board-level priority

 

The emergence of AI agents, which are systems capable of autonomously taking actions on behalf of users, creates another significant attack surface. According to Kaspersky, these systems can be manipulated through adversarial content or misconfigured autonomy settings, potentially leading to harmful real-world actions.

 

Kaspersky also highlights the growing challenge of “Shadow AI”, where employees use public AI services without oversight from IT departments. This creates uncontrolled data flows and increases the risk of confidential information exposure. A recent Kaspersky study* titled “Cybersecurity in the workplace: Employee knowledge and behaviour” showed that 87.8% of professionals surveyed in Kenya use AI tools for work-related tasks, including text editing, e-mail writing, data analytics and content creation. However, only 35% reported receiving cybersecurity training related to AI use.

 

Essential Actions in the AI-driven IT world

 

Kaspersky recommends organisations to regularly assess AI-related risks and establish comprehensive AI governance policies defining which AI tools are approved and what types of data can be processed. Regular employee training on secure AI usage, recognition of fake AI services, malicious links and prompt injection risks is equally essential.

 

To effectively manage the growing range of cyber risks, organisations should adopt a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that combines advanced security technologies, reliable threat intelligence, strong internal processes and continuous employee education. Robust cybersecurity solutions, such as the AI-powered Kaspersky SIEM and Kaspersky Next product line, provide real-time protection, threat visibility, investigation and response capabilities.

 

For private users, Kaspersky recommends exercising caution when using AI-powered tools, carefully reviewing privacy settings, verifying the authenticity of AI applications and double-checking information generated by agentic AI systems before making decisions based on automated outputs. The company also advises families to maintain open discussions with children regarding their use of AI technologies and online safety practices.

 

Visit the Kaspersky stand at B10 in Hall 2 at GITEX Kenya to find out more.

 

*The survey was conducted by Toluna research agency at the request of Kaspersky in 2025. The study sample included 2800 online interviews with employees and business owners using computers for work in seven countries: Türkiye, South Africa, Kenya, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kaspersky.

Business

KoçSistem Leads Türkiye’s Information Technology (IT) System Integrator for the Eighth Consecutive Year as KoçDigital Wins Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Award

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KoçSistem

KoçSistem ranked first in ICT 500’s main system integrator category for an eighth consecutive year, while KoçSistem and KoçDigital recorded 10 category wins as KoçSistem expands its MENA operations through Dubai and Riyadh

ISTANBUL, Türkiye, August 9, 2026/APO Group/ –KoçSistem (www.KocSistem.com.tr), a Türkiye-based technology company, ranked first in the main Information Technology Systems Integrator and Business Partner category of the 27th ICT 500, the country’s most comprehensive ICT (information and communication technology) sector research.

 

The company announced that the eighth consecutive category lead, as well as 10 combined category wins for KoçSistem and KoçDigital, support its MENA growth through offices in Dubai and Riyadh.

“Securing this leadership for an eighth consecutive year in ICT 500 is a strong reference for our leadership position in Türkiye,” said Mehmet Ali Akarca, General Manager of KoçSistem. “It also supports our objective of growing in international markets. We are pleased to take the technology expertise and operational capabilities we developed over many years in Türkiye to the MENA region.”

Ten category wins across two companies

KoçSistem’s eight first-place results covered the main system integrator category and areas including consulting, cloud, hosting management, cybersecurity, managed services and data backup and storage hardware.

With over 80 years of experience, we aim to create long-term value for the region’s digital ecosystem

KoçDigital added two first-place results in data warehousing and business intelligence software, and artificial intelligence under the “Contribution to Türkiye’s Economy” category.

ICT 500 ranks Türkiyes largest ICT companies

ICT 500 is BThaber’s annual ranking of Türkiye’s 500 largest ICT companies by revenue, with additional tables covering operating categories. The latest edition assessed 2025 data and marked the study’s 27th year.

The research reported that the combined 2025 revenue of the 500 ranked companies reached TRY 1.6 trillion, up 40 per cent from 2024.

MENA growth through Dubai and Riyadh

KoçSistem opened offices in Dubai and Riyadh in 2024 and continues to develop its MENA business in AI, cloud, cybersecurity, data analytics and managed services.

The offices extend a regional initiative outlined at GITEX Dubai 2024, when KoçSistem described Dubai as a base for developing customer and partner relationships across the Gulf and wider MENA markets.

“With over 80 years of experience, we aim to create long-term value for the region’s digital ecosystem,” Akarca concluded.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of KoçSistem.

 

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Events

Data Centre Summit Connects Africa’s Digital Growth with the Power Systems Needed to Sustain it

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Data Centre Summit

The programme will examine why data centres are emerging as a new industrial powerhouse and what coordinated action is required from operators, hyperscalers, utilities, independent power producers and investors to capture Africa’s share of global demand

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, August 13, 2026/APO Group/ –The Data Centre Summit returns for its second edition on 29 October 2026, co-located with the C&I Energy + Storage Summit at The Maslow Hotel in Johannesburg.

 

Following its debut alongside Enlit Africa in Cape Town, the Summit responds to a clear industry need: a platform that connects the growth of artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure with the power, cooling, financing and sustainability challenges shaping data centre development across Africa.

The programme will examine why data centres are emerging as a new industrial powerhouse and what coordinated action is required from operators, hyperscalers, utilities, independent power producers and investors to capture Africa’s share of global demand.

Cooling will be a central focus, with sessions exploring the shift from air to liquid cooling as rack densities increase. Discussions will consider deployment at scale, high-performance infrastructure, water availability, waste-heat reuse and the pressure that freshwater scarcity places on cooling decisions.

A South Africa country spotlight will assess the wheeling landscape, grid congestion, regulatory developments and investor sentiment influencing near-term project delivery. The programme will also explore the operational realities of maintaining 24/7 power supply through renewable blending, co-location and evolving generation technologies.

A dedicated case study will unpack how Cape Town, the first African city to launch a formal data strategy, is balancing spatial planning, resource constraints and public transparency against the rapid site approvals demanded by hyperscale growth. This will be paired with a cross-sector conversation on how surging digital workloads are drawing municipal grid capacity and independent power producers into closer alignment, and what coordinated, energy-led siting means for the next wave of facilities coming online across the continent.

Parallel masterclasses will focus on implementation, practical data centre design for African conditions and the barriers limiting clean energy investment. These sessions will address project bankability, power availability, execution risk, grid instability, contractor capacity and blended-finance solutions, giving delegates concrete tools to move projects from concept to bankable reality.

Co-location with the C&I Energy + Storage Summit, created by VUKA Group, places data centre operators in direct conversation with the customers, energy providers, financiers and technical partners responsible for powering Africa’s digital backbone.

For more information and to download the Data Centres Summit Johannesburg programme, visit https://apo-opa.co/3TXHxJ5  

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of VUKA Group.

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Business

Taara and Liquid use light-beam technology to expand data center capacity to large enterprises in Lagos, Nigeria

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Taara

Over the last two years, Liquid has deployed nearly a dozen Taara links across Lagos to quickly serve high-speed connectivity to large local enterprises and improve network resilience across key commercial areas for local internet service providers, banks, hotels, and a utility company

SUNNYVALE, United States of America, August 5, 2026/APO Group/ –Taara, a graduate of X, Google’s Moonshot Factory and a leader in high-speed, high-capacity wireless optical communication, today announced its continued collaboration with Liquid Intelligent Technologies (https://Liquid.Tech), a business of Cassava Technologies, a global technology company.

Taara has helped Liquid to quickly distribute high-capacity bandwidth from its points of presence at Africa Data Centres and other leading data centers in Nigeria to large enterprises within and beyond the reach of fiber, where traditional deployments can be costly, time-consuming, or operationally challenging, especially in areas where network outages caused by fiber cuts can take days to restore.

Over the last two years, Liquid has deployed nearly a dozen Taara links across Lagos to quickly serve high-speed connectivity to large local enterprises and improve network resilience across key commercial areas for local internet service providers, banks, hotels, and a utility company.

Nigeria is one of the largest economies in Africa, with some analysts reporting that the country’s economy is growing faster (https://apo-opa.co/4fX49AN) in 2026 than it has done in the previous five years. Lagos is the country’s largest and fastest-growing commercial hub, but expanding network infrastructure in dense urban environments can be challenging.

Wireless optical communication gives operators another tool to extend capacity, reach customers faster, and build more resilient networks without compromising performance

To meet growing enterprise demand, operators increasingly rely on a mix of technologies to extend coverage and increase redundancy. Liquid is using Taara’s technology to ensure improved proliferation of connectivity across the most difficult terrains in the country.

By using highly focused beams of light to transmit data through the air, Taara enables operators to establish links within days rather than weeks, helping accelerate customer deployments while complementing existing fiber infrastructure. Liquid is now exploring opportunities to expand the use of wireless optical communication into regions across Nigeria, including Abuja, Ibadan, and Kano.

“For Liquid, deployment speed has been one of the most significant advantages. Traditional fiber deployments aren’t always a possibility, especially across difficult terrains. Taara links can often be installed and activated within hours, allowing Liquid to ensure it is remaining true to its mission to create a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind,” said Eugene Uka, Acting Chief Executive Officer at Liquid Intelligent Technologies Nigeria.

“As demand for connectivity continues to grow, operators need more flexibility in how they expand and reinforce their networks,” said Bhavesh Mistry, Regional Lead for Taara in Africa. “Fiber remains an essential part of modern communications infrastructure, and will for some time, but there are many situations where deploying fiber quickly or cost-effectively can be difficult. Wireless optical communication gives operators another tool to extend capacity, reach customers faster, and build more resilient networks without compromising performance.”

Taara Lightbridge occupies a unique position between fiber and traditional radio-frequency solutions, delivering up to 20 Gbps of capacity across distances of up to 20 kilometers using narrow, invisible beams of light. The platform enables operators to rapidly deploy high-capacity links without trenching, spectrum licensing, or extensive civil works, helping bridge connectivity gaps that might otherwise remain unserved. Taara Lightbridge is currently deployed in more than 20 countries with operators including T-Mobile, Airtel, Digicel, Liquid, and SoftBank, helping extend and reinforce network capacity across urban, rural, remote, and hard-to-reach environments.

Read more in the case study (https://apo-opa.co/4fGlpLK). For more information about Taara, visit https://apo-opa.co/4gbnzmO.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Liquid Intelligent Technologies.

 

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