The Chief Executive Officer of the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) has urged the public and private organisations to have cybersecurity as a strategic initiative.

Emilia Nghikembua shared the sentiments during an exclusive interview with NBC on recent cyber attacks.

Inc Ransom is a cybercriminal group that conducts ransomware and extortion attacks.

It infiltrates organisations' information systems by stealing sensitive data, encrypting systems and then making payment demands and threatening to publicly release the stolen information in cybersecurity known as the 'double extortion model'.

The group has been active since 2023, and it uses sophisticated tools and structured attack methods.

In Namibia, their activities were picked up last year when the Namibia Cyber Incidents Response Team reported the incident pertaining to Otjiwarongo Municipality.

The recent one was an attack on the airports company.

The consequences include complete system lockdown, which paralyses business continuity, and it could also be a loss of critical data or exposure of sensitive information.

"In terms of the operations of the CERT, we then continue to issue alerts; we continue to issue advisories; we promote best practices from a cybersecurity perspective; and we also encourage strong organisational security and governance measures."

Warning signs include unusual login activity, large unexplained data transfers, unknown running programs and the appearance of a ransom note.

Namibia has been making efforts to strengthen data security through the pending Computer Security and Cybercrime Bill and Data Protection Act.