By Caleb Shatyohamba
WINDHOEK, DECEMBER 16 — In the wake of the high-profile hacking incident involving Telecom Namibia, Professor Job Amupanda, leader of the Affirmative Reposition (AR) movement, has revealed that Telecom is not the only victim of cyberattacks. Several other institutions, including commercial banks, have also been targeted, but these incidents have largely been kept under wraps.
Amupanda made the revelation on his social media platforms, expressing concerns that the hacking is not isolated to Telecom Namibia. He claimed that other organizations, including financial institutions, have fallen victim to similar breaches, though details have been concealed.
“Our intelligence knew about it. It’s a national catastrophe and an embarrassment. The major issue is that our security agencies focus more on surveillance related to SWAPO and elite interests, rather than addressing actual national security risks,” said Amupanda.
He stressed that the prevalence of such cyberattacks should not be surprising, as many Namibians have expressed growing concerns about their safety due to the prioritization of party interests over the country’s security needs.
NDN understands that, in November, Standard Bank Namibia also fell victim to a cyberattack, with hackers transferring funds from customer accounts. The bank confirmed unauthorized debit card transactions, which were traced back to a specific vendor.
Meanwhile, social activist Michael Saddam Amushelelo has threatened to take legal action against Telecom Namibia. Through his lawyer, Kadhila Amoomo, Amushelelo accused Telecom of negligence, claiming that the breach exposed sensitive national information to the public.
“Tomorrow, I will consult with my legal team to initiate a class action lawsuit against Telecom Namibia,” Amushelelo announced. “Namibians whose confidential information has been compromised are encouraged to join the lawsuit.”
Amushelelo has also called for the immediate removal of Telecom Namibia CEO Stanley Shanapinda, as well as the entire team responsible for the breach.
The leaked data includes highly sensitive information about prominent individuals, such as President Dr. Nangolo Mbumba, Minister of Health Kalumbi Shangula, Minister of Justice Yvonne Dausab, and Minister of International Relations Peya Mushelenga, among others.
Telecom Namibia CEO Stanley Shanapinda, in an interview with local media, warned the public against sharing the leaked data, calling it a criminal offense. “This is stolen data, and sharing it is a crime,” he said.
Minister Kalumbi Shangula, whose private information was also exposed on the dark web, voiced his concern about the long-term implications of the breach. “Nobody can feel safe. You don’t know what hackers can do with this information. It’s just terrible,” he said.
The cyberattack, one of the largest data security breaches in Namibia’s history, is believed to have been orchestrated by the ransomware group Hunters International. The breach exposed over 626 gigabytes of sensitive data, affecting more than 493,000 individuals, ministries, state-owned enterprises, and private businesses.
The leaked data includes personal IDs, bank account details, customer contracts, and internal budget reports from Telecom’s operations spanning from 2021 to 2024. Other prominent figures whose data was compromised include former President Hifikepunye Pohamba, Popular Democratic Movement President McHenry Venaani, Minister of Agriculture Calle Schlettwein, and businessman Knowledge Katti.
Emilia Nghikembua, CEO of CRAN and head of Namibia’s Cybersecurity Incident Response Team (NAM-CSIRT), confirmed that efforts are underway to mitigate the impact of the breach. NAM-CSIRT detected the data exfiltration on December 11 and is working with Telecom Namibia to contain the fallout.- Namibia Daily News
