Kenya says it is committed to building a safe and trusted digital ecosystem by empowering young people with skills to counter misinformation, disinformation and cyber threats.

Through the 2025 Cybersecurity Youth Forum hosted by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) and the Kenya Cybersecurity and Forensics Association (KCSFA) under the theme, Unpacking misinformation and disinformation, the government observed that the three are persistent challenges in cyberspace and impact public opinion, besides threatening national security given the active youth engagement on digital platforms.

Further, the youth are viewed as not only vulnerable to misleading content but are also uniquely positioned to combat it and they therefore should be empowered to counter cyber threats and misinformation that fosters digital literacy and promotes job creation and skills development through partnerships. This, the forums heard, strengthens national digital resilience.

CA Director General David Mugonyi stressed that the youth must be at the forefront of strengthening the country’s digital resilience as they form the majority of the population. He cited the 2019 national census, noting that 75 per cent of Kenyans are youth, 67 per cent of which are aged between 18 and 35 years.

Mugonyi noted that there is an urgent need to equip young people with critical thinking skills to verify information and adopt responsible digital practices.

“The youth are not just the future of this country; they are the present. It is not about preparing them for tomorrow, because that tomorrow is actually today. We need to empower them to make informed decisions, and that is the purpose of this forum,” Mugonyi said in a speech read on his behalf by Dr Vincent Ngundi, Director of Cyber Security at CA.

However, the director-general warned that false information, whether shared by mistake or deliberately created to mislead or fuel division, could cause real-world harm.

He highlighted ongoing initiatives such as the National Cybersecurity Boot Camps, Hackathons, the Universal Service Fund and the annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which were designed to enhance digital literacy and strengthen the country’s overall cyber resilience.

“As an industry regulator, our role goes beyond enforcement. We have anchored digital trust through frameworks such as the Child Online Protection Guidelines, enforced measures like SIM card registration and worked with social media companies to moderate harmful content,” Mugonyi pointed out.

He said that these interventions were central to making Kenya’s digital ecosystem inclusive and secure.

Speaking at the same event, KCSFA Chairman Keniz Agira expressed concern over the growing involvement of young people in cybercrime, referring to the fast-paced of technological change and the lag in policy response as factors creating loopholes.

“Technology is changing so fast. We moved from physical meetings to online platforms during the Covid-19 pandemic, and now we are grappling with Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT. Youth are quick to adopt but some extend curiosity beyond the limits and venture into cybercrime,” he observed.

Additionally, Agira noted, sectors such as banking and education were increasingly being targeted by cybercriminals, exposing vulnerabilities in institutions.

“The youth have the capacity to grasp technology faster, while institutions and the legal framework take time to catch up. That gap is where cyberattacks thrive,” he observed.

The KCSFA boss cited recent arrests of young people linked to hacking and online fraud, warning that these incidents pointed to the urgent need for structured guidance and mentorship.

“These gaps will always be there but we must continue building resilience and ensure that young people channel their skills towards positive innovations,” he urged.

At the same time, the Executive Director of Sharp Education Centre Paul Wanjohi said that instilling values in learners from an early age was critical in shaping how technology was used.

He pointed out that the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) had integrated ICT learning with ethics, which would help learners appreciate the responsibility that comes with digital skills.

“Everything is going ICT. The government has invested in policies to integrate technology into the Competency-Based Curriculum. From basic education, learners are being taught values so that when they grow up, they don’t misuse cyberspace for crime,” explained Dr Wanjohi.

He further warned against the misuse of artificial intelligence in schools, citing cases where students relied on AI-generated answers for assignments but could not reproduce the same knowledge in class.

“This shows a worrying misuse of technology that undermines real skills acquisition,” he reiterated.

In addition, Wanjohi urged Kenya to emulate countries such as Israel, China and the United States, where talent was tapped from schools and nurtured into positive innovations.

“Our society must raise youth who use cyberspace positively. Instead of a young person hacking into a company’s account, we would rather see that talent in innovations that prevent attacks. If we instil these principles early, Kenya can harness youth innovation for development,” he advised.

Data Protection and Quality Assurance Officer at the Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC) Esther Adwets underlined the importance of domain regulation in the fight against misinformation. She reported that fraudulent websites impersonating legitimate organisations were among the biggest threats to the public.

“A recent case involved a fake domain that imitated a well-known news outlet, making people believe it was authentic,” Adwets said.

“When such sites are reported, we work with regulators to suspend them immediately. This prevents further spread of false information and protects citizens from exploitation,” she added.

Adwets said misinformation thrived on exploiting human emotions such as fear and bias, making people more likely to believe and share falsehoods. To counter this, she urged Kenyans to adopt a ‘zero trust’ approach to online content.

“We must educate ourselves and the wider public that what we see online is not always what it seems. Verification should be our first instinct. Even a familiar face or a seemingly trusted source can spread manipulated content,” she counselled.

Founder of Nairobi AI Community Arthur Adinda explained the role of artificial intelligence as a powerful enabler of fact-checking and content filtering.

He said that AI-driven platforms could authenticate information using decades of news archives, thereby reducing the circulation of fake content.

“Artificial intelligence is the future of work and also a vital tool in addressing fake news. We now have locally relevant fact-checking platforms that allow Kenyans to focus on meaningful work while relying on automation to filter misleading content,” he said.

Further, Adinda explained, AI-driven fact-checking not only helped the public but also shielded institutions from reputational risks. By automating verification processes, both individuals and organisations could reduce their vulnerability to digital propaganda, he said.

He called on Kenyan youth and professionals to embrace AI not just as a work tool but also as a civic responsibility, saying, “If we automate repetitive processes and adopt fact-checking solutions, we can safeguard our democracy and protect society from the harmful effects of fake news”.

Meanwhile, the panel at the forum also acknowledged the challenge of balancing freedom of expression with the need to combat disinformation. While censorship was deemed unsustainable, participants agreed that digital literacy, awareness campaigns and ethical online behaviour were the most effective solutions.

The youth-focused cybersecurity dialogue sought to enhance digital literacy, promote responsible online behaviour and equip young people with skills to safeguard the country’s cyberspace from emerging threats.

• A Tell Media KNA report / By Naif Rashid and Samuel Kivuva

Communications Authority of Kenya Director of Cyber Security Vincent Ngundi speaking during a youth cybersecurity dialogue on digital resilience at a Nairobi hotel on Thursday, on September 11, 2025.