Hackers Demand Bitcoin Ransom After Breaching Kenyan President's Website

The official website of Kenyan President William Ruto was briefly taken offline on July 18 after hackers defaced its homepage and demanded a ransom of five bitcoins. The attackers threatened to leak unspecified data if their demand wasn't met by Saturday evening.

A forensic probe is underway, led by the National Computer and Cybercrime Coordination Committee (NC4) in collaboration with State House teams and outside technical partners.

The incident marks the second high-profile cyberattack on Kenyan state infrastructure within a year. In November 2025, several ministry websites were compromised in a coordinated attack.