Telecom Namibia in Crisis Mode as Customers’ Data Leak in Ransomware Attack
National telecommunication services provider in Namibia, Telecom Namibia, confirmed it has been attacked by hackers that leaked their customer data.
While the company hasn't published any official numbers and details, the company's CEO, Stanley Shanapinda, told local media today that hacker group Hunters International has contacted the company regarding the ransom. However, per Shanapinda, the company does not negotiate with "cyber terrorists" because there are no guarantees that the information would not be released after paying the ransom anyway.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the CEO assured that "security of our customers' information remains our priority."
The CEO has also reportedly urged the government to take action to prevent similar incidents, as Namibia doesn't have a dedicated cybercrime and data protection law. Meanwhile, even the president of the country, Nangolo Mbumba, reacted, saying that cybersecurity is a crucial part of their national security.
According to the local IT security professional Thomas Hamata, on December 11, the telecommunication company fell victim to a ransomware attack. The incident was revealed only this past weekend. Hamata claims it was a ransomware-as-a-service operation orchestrated by the Hunters International ransomware group that saw 626.3GB of data leaked, comprising 492,633 files. As the company declined to pay the ransom, sensitive Telecom Namibia customer records, including IDs, addresses, and banking details, were leaked and began circulating on social media.
Meanwhile, in their statement, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia also confirmed that the Namibia Cyber Security Incident Response Team (NAM-CSIRT) detected the data "exfiltration incident" on December 11 and that Hunters International is involved.
NAM-CSIRT also urged organizations to implement proactive measures such as multifactor authentication, regular vulnerability scans, timely software updates, and "robust network segmentation."