Hackers defaced Ruto’s official website, demanding five bitcoins as ransom. State House confirmed its ICT team was restoring access.
President William Ruto’s official website was hacked on Saturday, prompting an emergency response from Kenyan authorities. The attackers replaced the homepage with messages targeting the president and demanded five Bitcoin to restore access.
According to local media reports, the hackers also threatened to release unspecified information if the ransom remained unpaid. State House confirmed the incident and said its Information and Communication Technology team had started handling the breach while the website remained offline.
President Ruto’s Website Hacked as State House Responds
Reports from Buzzroom Kenya on Instagram highlighted the incident after the official website, president.go.ke, displayed unauthorized content. The page reportedly carried messages criticizing President Ruto alongside a Bitcoin wallet address.
NTV Kenya later confirmed that the attackers demanded five Bitcoin, valued at about KSh41.3 million, to restore access to the website. The broadcaster also showed footage of the altered homepage before authorities restricted public access.
State House Website Hacked
The official website of President William Ruto has been hacked, NTV can confirm.⁰
The hackers are demanding five bitcoins, equivalent to about 41.3 million shillings, to restore access to the website.⁰
⁰#NTVAtOne @wangechimu @david_muthoka7 pic.twitter.com/nykdw32ZEw
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) July 18, 2026
Information, Communications and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo confirmed the cyberattack. He said government cybersecurity teams had activated their response and were working to restore the affected platform.
State House also acknowledged the breach. Officials said the ICT team was handling the matter but did not immediately provide further technical details about the incident.
Five Bitcoin Ransom Raises Questions Over Website Breach
According to local reports, the attackers warned they would release unspecified information if the government failed to pay the requested ransom. However, authorities have not confirmed whether any sensitive information was accessed during the attack.
Officials said there was no evidence that confidential government data had been stolen or compromised. They also noted that investigators were still determining whether the attack affected only the public-facing website or extended to internal systems.
By Saturday afternoon, authorities had removed the defaced homepage and taken the website offline. Services had not resumed at the time of publication as forensic investigations continued.
The incident follows another cyberattack in November 2025 that disrupted several Kenyan government websites, including State House platforms and websites belonging to various ministries.
At the time, the government said it contained the incident and restored affected services.
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Bitcoin Price Holds Firm Following Cyberattack News
The ransom demand placed Bitcoin back into headlines, although the incident had no visible impact on the cryptocurrency’s market performance.
At press time, CoinGecko data showed Bitcoin trading at $63,999.11. The crypto recorded a 1.39% gain over the previous day while posting a 0.13% decline during the past week.
Meanwhile, market analyst Killa stated on X that Bitcoin had likely established its major cycle low during the move from $97,000 to $59,000. He added that any move below $59,000 could represent market manipulation rather than a shift in the broader trend.
$BTC has already established its major cycle low.
The move from 97K to 59K was the final major correction.
59K is the base low. Could we wick below it? Yes. However, any move below is likely manipulation.
We’re in the timebased capitulation phase. pic.twitter.com/fXcyOgSJpd
— Killa (@KillaXBT) July 18, 2026
The Kenyan government has not linked the cyberattack to any specific group.
Authorities also have not indicated whether ransom negotiations will take place. Investigators continue examining the breach while cybersecurity teams work to restore the presidential website.
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