By: Hee-Dee Walenga
The chairman of the Namibia International Cybersecurity Conference & Exhibition (NICSC), Paulinus Sheehama, called for all levels of Namibia to take cybersecurity seriously.
Sheehama spoke at the launch of the NICSC 2026 Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign Initiative in Windhoek on Friday morning.
The campaign forms part of the upcoming conference, which will take place in Windhoek from 22 to 24 April 2026.
During his speech, Sheehama outlined why such a conference is essential for Namibia. According to the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), Namibia recorded 1.1 million cyber threats, a figure that has doubled compared to the previous reporting period. During the same period, 1.09 million cyber vulnerabilities were identified.
By 31 December 2025, the numbers had escalated to over 1.7 million cyber events and more than 2.2 million cyber vulnerabilities, with only 5 incidents formally managed and reported.
The rise in cyber attacks in Namibia is reflective of an overall continental problem. Africa experienced a sharp rise in ransomware and financial fraud between 2023 and 2024, with South Africa among the top 5 most targeted countries on the continent.
The African Union reports that Africa loses over US$4 billion annually to cyber-enabled crimes, according to an African Union Cybersecurity Report.
During his speech, Sheehama probed, “As a citizen, does this not give you goosebumps? If a pensioner, who has worked for over 35 years of her life loses her N$1m fortune, who will assist this person? Will the bank compensate her for the loss? Is it not a moral reasonability to educate these pensioners? Or is this the responsibility of the government only?”
He further quizzed, “What would happen if the water treatment plant of the City of Windhoek were compromised, God forbid?”
Sheehama explained how this exact scenario occurred in the USA when a hacker gained access to a municipal water treatment facility and attempted to increase the levels of sodium hydroxide in the water supply—an act that could have resulted in the poisoning of 15,000 residents. The attack was only prevented due to an alert operator who detected the intrusion in real time.
“If such an incident can happen in one of the most technologically advanced countries, like the USA, then we must ask ourselves, are we prepared?” the chairman added.
Sheehama called for Namibia to no longer view cybersecurity as a technical issue only reserved for IT departments, but as a national responsibility.
NICSC 2026 has attracted over 70 local and international speakers, with 70% coming from outside Namibia to provide their expertise. The participating countries include South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Benin, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Canada, Turkey, the UAE, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.
