Wi-Fi users in cafes, matatus face CCTV cameras tracking

Matatus, hotels and other public places offering Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) services will have to install CCTV cameras to monitor Internet users as part of the fight against cybercrime.

The new rules are contained in the Cyber Security Regulations, 2015 which is going through public assessment.
Wi-Fi service providers who flout the rule risk a jail term of up to seven years or a Sh3 million fine or both.
Under the new regulations, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CA) says, providers of Wi-Fi in public places should install Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras to record clients.

The regulations also require that only registered mobile phone subscribers and genuine handsets are allowed into public Wi-Fi networks.

The Wi-Fi providers are also required to store data showing when a particular user hooked into the network and when they logged out. The rules require that the data be kept for a period of one year.

The information collected will be made available to the CA for further action.

CA director-general Francis Wangusi said the rules will help track and monitor Wi-Fi user-activity on mobile devices and supplement the registration of mobile phone SIM cards.

“Right now it is very difficult to trace anyone using public Wi-Fi. This has given criminals an avenue to conduct their activities,” Mr Wangusi told the Business Daily.  

The government losses about Sh5 billion a year to cybercrime.

READ: CA rule to require registration for use of public Wi-Fi

Internet Service Providers (ISP) will also be expected to authenticate serial numbers of handsets used on their networks. They will ensure that only genuine mobile phones with a unique 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) code are used.

“Any person who commits an offence under these regulations for which no penalty is expressly provided shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or a fine not exceeding Sh3 million or both,”  read part of the regulations.

Currently, those accessing the Internet using modems or private networks use traceable SIM cards.

Mr Wangusi’s announcement comes at a time when entertainment outlets are using free Wi-Fi connectivity to market themselves.
The regulations are part of the government’s latest effort to curb cybercrimes in the country.

Last year, the CA said it was working on a licensing rule that could compel Internet service providers (ISPs) to shift websites hosted abroad back to the country.

Most ISPs prefer to host their data abroad to benefit from economies of scale provided by international firms with bulk clients compared to local data centres. They also enjoy enhanced legal documents protection abroad.

The regulator says that hosting websites outside Kenya has made it difficult to trace cyber criminals, exposing the country to harm.