Interior ministry calls for public views on computer misuse and cybercrimes draft regulations

The Ministry of Interior and National Administration has invited the public to give views on the Draft Computer Misuse and Cybercrime (Critical Information Infrastructure and Cybercrime Management) Regulations, 2023, as well as the Draft Regulatory Impact Statement.

Institutions, organizations, and individuals who wish to submit their views have been urged to send them via e-mail, postal address or hand deliver their submissions to the Prof. Kithure Kindiki-led ministry’s physical address.

The ministry, in a notice published on Tuesday, said it will accept submissions between August 29 and September 19, 2023, and that it will also host live public engagement events in 8 different regions of the nation.

The draft rules were created by the Interior ministry in accordance with Section 70 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act of 2018 and the Statutory Instruments Act of 2013.

The regulations aim to, among other things, provide a framework for the establishment and management of Cybersecurity Operations Centers as well as a framework for monitoring, detecting, and responding to cybersecurity threats in the Kenyan cyberspace.

They also aim to provide for the protection, preservation, and management of Critical Information Infrastructure and, at the same time, provide for the audit and inspection of National Critical Information Infrastructure.

In addition, the regulations will establish a framework for capacity building on prevention, detection, and mitigation of computer and cybercrimes as well as issues related to them.

Recovery plans will also be included in the regulations in the event of a disaster breach or loss of the national critical information infrastructure or any part of it.

These regulations will further encourage coordination, collaboration, cooperation, and shared responsibility among stakeholders in the cybersecurity sector, including the protection of critical infrastructure, according to the ministry.

Lastly, the regulations are poised to provide for mechanisms for cybercrime management, among others.