President Ruto's Website Hacked, Attackers Demand KSh41 Million Bitcoin Ransom

The official website of the President of Kenya was compromised in a cyberattack on Saturday, with hackers defacing the homepage and demanding five bitcoins in ransom. 

Visitors to president.go.ke were shown messages targeting President William Ruto, a Bitcoin wallet address and a threat to release undisclosed information unless payment was made by 6 p.m. The attackers demanded five bitcoins, worth about KSh41.3 million at current exchange rates. 

They warned that they would publish unspecified material if the deadline passed without payment. The defaced homepage also referred to several named individuals, while the State House insignia remained faintly visible in the background.

State House confirmed the breach in a brief statement, saying its ICT team was working to restore the website and investigate the incident. Officials did not say whether the attack was limited to the homepage or whether other systems had been affected.

The incident adds to a series of cyberattacks targeting Kenyan government institutions. In November last year, several government websites, including those of the Ministries of Health, Education, Labour and Interior, were taken offline during a coordinated attack. The disruption interrupted online services and replaced official content with extremist slogans and unauthorised messages. The Ministry of Defence and the National Treasury were not affected.

The latest breach raises questions about the security of government digital systems and the protection of sensitive information. If data has been accessed, it could have implications for national security and public confidence in government online services. The use of Bitcoin in the ransom demand reflects a common tactic in cyber extortion, where cryptocurrency is used because it is more difficult to trace.