IEBC Denies DCI Reports of Systems Hacking, Stealing of 61,000 Voter Information

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has denied DCI report that hackers stole personal details of 61,000 voters.

In a statement, the commission chair Wafula Chebukati said the voters register is secure and is not linked to open internet.

Chebukati also noted that what the investigative body is reporting is not data obtained through hacking of the BVR system but possibly from entities that may have legitimately obtained from the commission through formal request and upon payment of requisite fees.

“The commission invests highly in security of its information assets, including the electoral technologies, and would like to assure all Kenyans that it is committed to protecting the same by ensuring their confidentiality, integrity and availability at all times,” said Chebukati.

Press Release; Hacking of IEBC database to acquire Registered voters' personal details pic.twitter.com/BlwpuYuaeC

— IEBC (@IEBCKenya) July 18, 2021

On Saturday, DCI sleuths arrested a suspected fraudster in whose possession they discovered a gunny bag containing SIM cards belonging to Safaricom, Airtel, and Telcom mobile phone service providers.

The data found in his possession includes the names of registered voters, their ID numbers, and their dates of birth.

The 21-year-old suspect, DCI said, had hacked into the IEBC database and obtained personal information on 61,617 registered voters in a Western Kenya county.

Earlier, the suspects had hacked into the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) database, and acquired personal details of 61,617registered voters from a county in western Kenya. pic.twitter.com/a0qS6zu30I

— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) July 16, 2021

With the information, the suspect is said to contact various wireless carriers and convince customer service representatives that they are the true owners of the line.

After successfully swapping SIM cards, the suspect gains full access to the victim’s online accounts.

The suspect who was nabbed in Juja is suspected to have previously worked for one of Kenya’s mobile phone networks.

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