Nairobi, May 6 -- The use of trial-and-error to guess login credentials such as usernames and passwords to steal sensitive data or cash surged to 46.38 million attacks in Kenya in the three months to March, as the country shifts to cloud-based services.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) said cases of persistent guessing of login credentials or encryption keys until the correct combination is found, technically called brute-force cyberattacks, increased 8.4 percent to 42.8 million recorded in the previous quarter.

These cases are increasingly targeting critical information infrastructure such as cloud service providers and government systems, the watchdog said. The latest figure marks the highest number of brute attacks Kenya ha...