The e-citizen portal, which Kenyans and foreign residents now access for all permit and government services paperwork, and consequently the evisa.go.ke website that deals with tourist visas, have not opened for 3 days now. As we announced yesterday, the problem arose after an attack by Sudanese hackers on national computer systems, as claimed by the "Sudan Anonymous" organization and confirmed by the Foreign Ministry. "There was an attack, we are dealing with it," reads part of the statement.

The situation would thus appear to be under control, although the sites cannot yet be accessed.
Commenting on the issue last night was ICT Minister Eliud Owalo, who reassured everyone that although they attempted to hack the sites, cybercriminals were not able to tamper with data or obtain sensitive information.

"Our technical team blocked the source IP address where the entry requests came from. To be clear, both privacy and data security were not compromised. The system was not hacked. As a result of the attack attempts, however, the system experienced intermittent outages that affected the normal speed of access to platform services. However, these attempts were repelled by the security systems and applications in use."

While stressing that the platform will resume normal operations soon, Owalo added that the government is beefing up cybersecurity in anticipation of any future similar attacks.
"The relevant agencies of the Government of Kenya are on high alert and have strengthened the security of the e-Citizen portal and all government service sites. All systems and portals under the control of the Government of Kenya are secure," he said, "The government will continue its cyber surveillance efforts and encourages the public and private sectors to intensify their cyber surveillance efforts so as to secure Kenya's cyberspace and users to report all disruptions to the Kenya National Cyber Incident Coordination Center.

As announced yesterday, those who are departing and have been unable to access the evisa.go.ke website can, until further notice, arrive in Nairobi or Mombasa and obtain their visas directly at the airport by filling out the appropriate form. It is recommended that you bring two passport photos, although you may not need them.