When I think about the dangers we face today, I realize how much the meaning of “security threat” has changed within just a generation. In the past, when our grandparents or even our parents thought of national security, they imagined foreign armies crossing borders, tanks rolling into cities, or governments declaring war. The threat was visible, uniformed, and usually came from outside our borders.
But time has rewritten that rulebook. Now, the enemy may not wear a uniform. They might never step foot in our country physically, yet they can reach us from a laptop thousands of miles away. The danger may not come with a declaration of war — it could appear as a false news post on social media, a suspicious email in your inbox, a flood that submerges your home overnight, or a virus that spreads across continents in a matter of days.
Security experts — from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to our own National Counter-Terrorism Centre in Kenya — must agree on one thing: the threats of our time are not only more numerous but also more connected than ever before. For instance, a cyberattack on a power grid in one part of the country can blackout the whole country. We have experienced power outages as a nation severally. Who knows whether they were cyber-attacks on our critical power system? A pandemic can halt global trade and cripple economies. An extremist radicalized online in a remote town can carry out an attack in the capital city.
For me, understanding this modern threat environment is not just a matter of curiosity — it is a matter of survival. If citizens like you and me don’t understand what these threats look like, how can we possibly play our role in preventing them? That is why I want to walk you through the main categories of threats we face today — and why our vigilance is as important as that of any trained officer or intelligence agent.
Terrorism today is not limited to large, well-organized groups operating in far-off deserts or jungles. Increasingly, it is born and bred within communities — sometimes in plain sight. In the United States, the most immediate terrorist threat in recent years has not come from overseas operatives but from homegrown violent extremists. These “lone wolves” often work alone, inspired by extremist content online, making them incredibly hard to detect.
I remember reading about a 2023 case in Ohio where a young man, radicalized in white supremacist forums, was plotting an attack on a local mosque. What stopped him was not an undercover agent or a last-minute raid — it was a tip from another forum user, halfway across the world, who reported the threats to the FBI. That simple act of vigilance stopped an attack before it began.
Internationally, groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda are still active. They may no longer hold large territories, but they have shifted to inspiring and enabling attacks remotely. In 2024, ISIS claimed responsibility for a bombing in Kabul targeting a foreign NGO compound — a reminder that these groups still have the ability to destabilize regions and threaten lives far beyond their borders.
For Kenya, this is not a distant problem. Along our border with Somalia, Al-Shabaab continues to exploit corruption, porous borders, and poverty to launch deadly attacks. From the 2013 Westgate Mall siege to the 2019 DusitD2 attack, we have seen how terrorists can infiltrate urban centers and cause devastation. Just as in the U.S., stopping such attacks requires information, vigilance, and quick reporting — not just from agencies, but from the public.
The battleground has shifted to the digital world, and in many ways, this is where citizens have the most direct influence. Cyberattacks are not science fiction — they happen every day, targeting governments, businesses, and even individuals.
One of the most shocking examples was the SolarWinds cyberattack, where hackers inserted malicious code into a trusted software update. The result was catastrophic: multiple U.S. government agencies and top corporations were compromised without even realizing it. Since then, ransomware has become a favorite weapon for cybercriminals. In 2024, a coordinated ransomware attack crippled hospital systems in three U.S. states, forcing emergency transfers of patients and delaying surgeries.
But cyber threats are not just about stolen data or frozen computers. Disinformation campaigns — often run by state-sponsored actors — can destabilize entire democracies. For example, during the 2024 U.S. midterm elections, armies of bots and fake accounts spread false narratives about voter fraud, aiming to undermine trust in the electoral process.
Here in Kenya, we’ve seen similar dangers. Disinformation has been used to inflame ethnic tensions during elections, while phishing scams and mobile money fraud continue to target ordinary citizens. Weak passwords, outdated software, and a moment’s carelessness can open the door to large-scale breaches. But prompt reporting of suspicious emails, fake websites, or social media scams can help contain the damage.
CBRNE — short for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives — sounds like a term for military experts, but citizens play a role here too. Chemical attacks, like the 2018 Salisbury poisoning in the UK, remind us that toxic substances can be weaponized with deadly results. Biologically, COVID-19 was a wake-up call for the entire planet, showing how a virus — whether naturally occurring or engineered — can bring the world to a standstill.
Radiological threats are also real. In 2024, police in Eastern Europe arrested a suspect trying to sell cesium-137 — a radioactive material — on the black market. And explosives remain a constant danger, from homemade bombs used by terrorists to industrial-grade explosives stolen for criminal use.
Even in Kenya, explosives smuggled from Somalia have been used in deadly roadside attacks on police and civilians. In such cases, community awareness — noticing suspicious storage, purchases, or movements — can be the first and most effective line of prevention.
Nature can be just as destructive as any human threat. Climate change is making disasters stronger and more frequent. The 2023 Maui wildfires in Hawaii killed nearly a hundred people and destroyed entire neighborhoods. In Kenya, prolonged droughts, floods in Budalang’i, and landslides in West Pokot have displaced thousands.
Man-made disasters, such as industrial accidents, are no less devastating. The 2023 Ohio train derailment released toxic chemicals into the air and water, forcing evacuations. In Africa, we have had similar tragedies — like the 2018 Solai Dam burst in Nakuru County, which killed more than 40 people. In both cases, official responders could not be everywhere at once, and survival often depended on neighbors helping neighbors.
What makes today’s threats even more dangerous is how they can overlap. A cyberattack can cause a physical disaster, like the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in the U.S., which disrupted fuel supplies across the Eastern states. Criminals can exploit natural disasters, looting homes during hurricane evacuations or running online scams disguised as relief efforts. For this reason, security in the modern world cannot be one-dimensional. It has to be hybrid — with governments deploying resources and citizens providing eyes, ears, and local action.
The threats we face today are not only more varied but more interconnected than at any other time in history. Terrorism has shifted from large, centralized cells to lone actors; cyber threats have moved from nuisance viruses to attacks on hospitals, elections, and critical infrastructure; CBRNE risks remain quietly dangerous; and disasters — both natural and man-made — test how prepared our communities truly are.
In all of this, one truth remains: the common denominator is the citizen. Knowing the threats is the first step. Acting when you see them — and working together with others — is the next.
But time has rewritten that rulebook. Now, the enemy may not wear a uniform. They might never step foot in our country physically, yet they can reach us from a laptop thousands of miles away. The danger may not come with a declaration of war — it could appear as a false news post on social media, a suspicious email in your inbox, a flood that submerges your home overnight, or a virus that spreads across continents in a matter of days.
Security experts — from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to our own National Counter-Terrorism Centre in Kenya — must agree on one thing: the threats of our time are not only more numerous but also more connected than ever before. For instance, a cyberattack on a power grid in one part of the country can blackout the whole country. We have experienced power outages as a nation severally. Who knows whether they were cyber-attacks on our critical power system? A pandemic can halt global trade and cripple economies. An extremist radicalized online in a remote town can carry out an attack in the capital city.
For me, understanding this modern threat environment is not just a matter of curiosity — it is a matter of survival. If citizens like you and me don’t understand what these threats look like, how can we possibly play our role in preventing them? That is why I want to walk you through the main categories of threats we face today — and why our vigilance is as important as that of any trained officer or intelligence agent.
Terrorism today is not limited to large, well-organized groups operating in far-off deserts or jungles. Increasingly, it is born and bred within communities — sometimes in plain sight. In the United States, the most immediate terrorist threat in recent years has not come from overseas operatives but from homegrown violent extremists. These “lone wolves” often work alone, inspired by extremist content online, making them incredibly hard to detect.
I remember reading about a 2023 case in Ohio where a young man, radicalized in white supremacist forums, was plotting an attack on a local mosque. What stopped him was not an undercover agent or a last-minute raid — it was a tip from another forum user, halfway across the world, who reported the threats to the FBI. That simple act of vigilance stopped an attack before it began.
Internationally, groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda are still active. They may no longer hold large territories, but they have shifted to inspiring and enabling attacks remotely. In 2024, ISIS claimed responsibility for a bombing in Kabul targeting a foreign NGO compound — a reminder that these groups still have the ability to destabilize regions and threaten lives far beyond their borders.
For Kenya, this is not a distant problem. Along our border with Somalia, Al-Shabaab continues to exploit corruption, porous borders, and poverty to launch deadly attacks. From the 2013 Westgate Mall siege to the 2019 DusitD2 attack, we have seen how terrorists can infiltrate urban centers and cause devastation. Just as in the U.S., stopping such attacks requires information, vigilance, and quick reporting — not just from agencies, but from the public.
The battleground has shifted to the digital world, and in many ways, this is where citizens have the most direct influence. Cyberattacks are not science fiction — they happen every day, targeting governments, businesses, and even individuals.
One of the most shocking examples was the SolarWinds cyberattack, where hackers inserted malicious code into a trusted software update. The result was catastrophic: multiple U.S. government agencies and top corporations were compromised without even realizing it. Since then, ransomware has become a favorite weapon for cybercriminals. In 2024, a coordinated ransomware attack crippled hospital systems in three U.S. states, forcing emergency transfers of patients and delaying surgeries.
But cyber threats are not just about stolen data or frozen computers. Disinformation campaigns — often run by state-sponsored actors — can destabilize entire democracies. For example, during the 2024 U.S. midterm elections, armies of bots and fake accounts spread false narratives about voter fraud, aiming to undermine trust in the electoral process.
Here in Kenya, we’ve seen similar dangers. Disinformation has been used to inflame ethnic tensions during elections, while phishing scams and mobile money fraud continue to target ordinary citizens. Weak passwords, outdated software, and a moment’s carelessness can open the door to large-scale breaches. But prompt reporting of suspicious emails, fake websites, or social media scams can help contain the damage.
CBRNE — short for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives — sounds like a term for military experts, but citizens play a role here too. Chemical attacks, like the 2018 Salisbury poisoning in the UK, remind us that toxic substances can be weaponized with deadly results. Biologically, COVID-19 was a wake-up call for the entire planet, showing how a virus — whether naturally occurring or engineered — can bring the world to a standstill.
Radiological threats are also real. In 2024, police in Eastern Europe arrested a suspect trying to sell cesium-137 — a radioactive material — on the black market. And explosives remain a constant danger, from homemade bombs used by terrorists to industrial-grade explosives stolen for criminal use.
Even in Kenya, explosives smuggled from Somalia have been used in deadly roadside attacks on police and civilians. In such cases, community awareness — noticing suspicious storage, purchases, or movements — can be the first and most effective line of prevention.
Nature can be just as destructive as any human threat. Climate change is making disasters stronger and more frequent. The 2023 Maui wildfires in Hawaii killed nearly a hundred people and destroyed entire neighborhoods. In Kenya, prolonged droughts, floods in Budalang’i, and landslides in West Pokot have displaced thousands.
Man-made disasters, such as industrial accidents, are no less devastating. The 2023 Ohio train derailment released toxic chemicals into the air and water, forcing evacuations. In Africa, we have had similar tragedies — like the 2018 Solai Dam burst in Nakuru County, which killed more than 40 people. In both cases, official responders could not be everywhere at once, and survival often depended on neighbors helping neighbors.
What makes today’s threats even more dangerous is how they can overlap. A cyberattack can cause a physical disaster, like the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in the U.S., which disrupted fuel supplies across the Eastern states. Criminals can exploit natural disasters, looting homes during hurricane evacuations or running online scams disguised as relief efforts. For this reason, security in the modern world cannot be one-dimensional. It has to be hybrid — with governments deploying resources and citizens providing eyes, ears, and local action.
The threats we face today are not only more varied but more interconnected than at any other time in history. Terrorism has shifted from large, centralized cells to lone actors; cyber threats have moved from nuisance viruses to attacks on hospitals, elections, and critical infrastructure; CBRNE risks remain quietly dangerous; and disasters — both natural and man-made — test how prepared our communities truly are.
In all of this, one truth remains: the common denominator is the citizen. Knowing the threats is the first step. Acting when you see them — and working together with others — is the next.
