Hackers Take Over Kenyan President's Official Website, Demand 5 BTC Ransom

The official website of Kenyan President William Ruto has been hacked, and it has been revealed that the hackers demanded a ransom of 5 BTC.

The homepage displayed messages insulting the president, along with a demand for the transfer of 5 BTC and a payment deadline. The government restricted general access to the site and subsequently restored it, while continuing to investigate the breach.

Official Presidential Website Tampered, 5 BTC Ransom Demand
According to reports, hackers infiltrated the official website of the Kenyan president, "president.go.ke," on Saturday, July 18, 2026, replacing the usual speeches and official announcements with unauthorized content.

The tampered page included insulting messages directed at President Ruto, as well as a ransom demand for 5 BTC. The hackers threatened to release information related to the president or information they claimed to have obtained if payment was not made by 6 PM on Saturday.

Additionally, a message indicating a "third warning" was displayed, suggesting that the hackers had attempted to contact the government in the past. However, the identity of the hackers, their method of intrusion, and the specific information they claimed to have obtained remain unclear.

Government Restores Site, No Evidence of Confidential Data Breach Found

The Ministry of Information, Communication, and the Digital Economy of Kenya activated cybersecurity response protocols after detecting the breach, restricting general access to the website while the technical team began containment and forensic investigations.

The investigation involves NC4 (National Computer Cyber Crime Coordination Committee), working in collaboration with the presidential office's technical team and external cybersecurity experts.

According to the government, there is currently no evidence of unauthorized access to confidential data, data leaks, or information loss. Furthermore, the compromised official presidential website is isolated from other government systems, and digital services of the administration are functioning normally.

Although the official presidential website has since been restored, forensic investigations, including the method of intrusion, are ongoing to determine whether the attack was limited to tampering with publicly accessible pages. The government has not disclosed whether it considered paying the ransom.

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