Financial Crime World

Namibia Struggles to Contain Cyber Crime Epidemic

Introduction

Windhoek - With an estimated 90% of mobile money transactions in Africa still driven by USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) codes, Namibia is grappling with a cyber crime epidemic that has left many organizations and individuals vulnerable.

The State of Cybersecurity in Namibia

  • Only 10% of mobile money transactions in Africa use secure methods, leaving the majority vulnerable to threats.
  • Security testing for USSD revealed remote unauthorized access to and tampering with mobile devices.
  • Lack of a national center for identifying vulnerabilities and threats has led to a relative lack of intelligence flow and mechanisms for sharing information on unique threats and vulnerabilities.

Contributing Factors

  • Low cybersecurity awareness in rural and limited-access populations.
  • Erratic information dissemination.
  • Lack of national cyber awareness and resilience programs.

The Impact of Cyber Crime

  • Cyber crime ecosystem thrives undetected, hindering digital expansion and growth.
  • Organizations, especially micro- to medium enterprises, inadequately prepared to guard against a growing cyber crime ecosystem.
  • Country considered one of the most exposed countries in Africa due to slackness in implementing cybersecurity laws and regulations.

The Need for Action

  • National Cybersecurity Strategy and Awareness Creation Plan launched by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology aims to protect critical information infrastructure, educate the public, and collaborate with public and private entities on cybersecurity.
  • Experts warn that a meshed approach is required that includes partnerships with the private sector for the development of secure applications and infrastructure for the protection of data and assets.

Recommendations

  • Establishment of a national Computer Emergency Response Team.
  • Network of private and public entities for information-sharing and initiating actionable response.
  • Development of targeted solutions to build up security nationally.

Conclusion

Namibia’s struggle to contain cyber crime is a wake-up call for the government and organizations to take immediate action to raise awareness about online risks and to develop targeted solutions to build up security nationally.