By Dr. Collins Oduor

As part of its efforts to ensure that our students are equipped with practical knowledge, the School of Science and Technology recently hosted an interactive class session with Mr. Dancun Ondimu, Principal Prosecution Counsel, Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP).

During the session, Mr. Ondimu touched on various issues, including the legal framework for cyber security in Kenya; current Information Security Laws in Kenya, East Africa, African Union, Commonwealth and the United Nations; prosecutor evidence presentations and penalties for Cyber Security offenders and National bodies and their responsibilities in relation to Information Security Laws and cyber security.

Speaking during the session, Mr. Ondimu noted that it was high time that the legislation governing cybersecurity was brought into law.
“Cyber space is an integral part of our daily lives, making its security critical since it has implications on the security and progress of our nation,” he said.

Cybersecurity is defined in the Kenya Information and Communications Act (2013) as "the collection of tools, policies, security concepts, security safeguards, guidelines, actions, training, best practices that can be used to protect the cyber environment.

“Although the provisions of the KICA are useful in the war against cybercrime, plenty remains to be done at legislative and policy levels in order to help stem the tide of cyberattacks. The Cyber Security and Protection Bill 2016, gazetted in 2016 is yet to be tabled before Parliament,” he noted.

In his vote of thanks, Dr. Oduor thanked Mr. Ondimu for taking his time to demystify cybersecurity laws to the students, noting that the information he had provided to the students would be valuable to their future careers.