Kenyan presidential site hacked, attackers demand 5 Bitcoin

The official website of Kenyan President William Ruto was defaced by hackers on Saturday, July 18, 2026, in a ransomware attack that forced the government to temporarily shut down the portal. The attackers replaced the site's content with insulting messages and a demand for 5 Bitcoin, equivalent to roughly $320,000, threatening to leak unspecified information if the ransom was not paid by 6 p.m. local time that day.

William Kabogo Gitau, the Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, confirmed the cyberattack. He stated that access to the presidential website was temporarily restricted to facilitate containment and forensic analysis. Gitau assured the public that there was no evidence of unauthorized access to sensitive government data, data exfiltration, or loss of information, adding that government systems and digital services remained secure and operational. The website was restored to normal function by the following day.

As of Monday, July 20, no hacker group had publicly claimed responsibility for the attack, and the government has not attributed it to any specific organization or country. The incident is currently viewed as a financially...