The Otjiwarongo Municipality has suffered a cyberattack involving data theft and a ransom demand from a group calling itself “INC Ransom”.
The Namibia Cybersecurity Incident Response Team (NAM-CSIRT) confirmed the breach, which was detected on 16 July 2025.
Emilia Nghikembua, CEO of the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) and Head of NAM-CSIRT, said the municipality was immediately alerted and advised to contain the threat.
“NAM-CSIRT has notified the municipality and recommended immediate containment measures, including data mapping to determine the extent of exposure and the isolation of affected systems,” Nghikembua said.
A formal investigation is underway, and efforts are focused on securing compromised systems and assessing the damage.
“NAM-CSIRT will provide an appropriate update in due course… without compromising the integrity of the investigation,” she added.
The attack is the latest in a series of cyber incidents affecting Namibia’s public and private sectors.
In early 2025, Paratus Namibia was hit by a breach linked to a compromised internal account, disrupting its 083 voice services and cloud platforms.
In December 2024, Telecom Namibia was attacked by a ransomware group known as Hunters International. The hackers stole over 626 gigabytes of data. When their ransom demands were not met, sensitive customer records – including IDs, addresses and banking details – were leaked online.
