Patience Makwele
Youths have been challenged to move beyond simply recognising cyber threats and develop practical habits to protect themselves, as the country records hundreds of thousands of cyber vulnerabilities.
The call comes amid the launch of the Global Cybersecurity Initiative (GCI) in Namibia, a Pan-African platform aimed at strengthening collaboration between governments, businesses, cybersecurity professionals and individuals in responding to cyber threats.
The Namibia Cyber Security Incident Response Team (NAM-CSIRT) recorded 161 547 cyber events and 513 921 vulnerabilities between April and June 2026, highlighting the scale of risks facing an increasingly digital society.
GCI communication executive Lloyd Sikeba said cybersecurity should no longer be viewed as a responsibility reserved for information technology departments.
“It’s one thing to know, but it’s another thing to know how to execute what you know about,” Sikeba said.
He said individuals could become vulnerable through threats such as phishing, data breaches and compromised email accounts, with the consequences extending beyond the individual to workplaces and organisations.
For young people, who are increasingly active on social media, online banking and other digital platforms, the warning comes as cybersecurity becomes an everyday responsibility rather than a specialised technical issue.
Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) cybersecurity graduate Oscar Masule Tebuho, 29, said young people often become too comfortable online and fail to question suspicious messages or links or in worst cases scammers posing as people looking for relationships online.
“You’ll find someone will get a message saying they’ve won something, or someone sends them a link, and they just click without really thinking about it and lately both men and women (young and old) have resorted to online dating where strangers earn their trust before scamming them,” Tebuho said.
He said oversharing personal information on social media was another concern, as users may not realise how information about them could be used by scammers.
“Sometimes you only need to make one mistake for someone to get access to your account or information,” he said.
Tebuho said studying cybersecurity had changed how he approached digital platforms, including becoming more cautious about where messages originate, what they request and whether they make sense.
He said his knowledge had also made him a source of advice for family and friends who receive suspicious messages.
“I’m always telling them, ‘Don’t click that,’ or ‘Why are you giving this person that information?’” he said.
Another NUST final-year cybersecurity student Latoya Peneyambeko Iiyambo, shared that the importance of cybersecurity became clear after she lost money to scammers that she had intended to use for tuition.
Iiyambo said she received a call claiming that her number had been selected in a draw after she had regularly recharged her mobile phone and participated in an MTC trivia game.
She said she did not immediately suspect the call was fraudulent and later reported the matter to police.
The incident prompted her to research cybersecurity and take online courses, including Cisco courses, before deciding to pursue the field after a gap year.
“I didn’t want to remain someone who had been scammed and was just angry about it. I wanted to understand the technology and eventually be able to protect myself and other people,” Iiyambo said.
Now in her final year, she said her approach to online safety had changed significantly.
“I don’t trust something just because it looks professional. I try to verify it first,” she said.
Iiyambo said she had also become more conscious of passwords, links and the amount of personal information she shares online, while helping family and friends identify suspicious messages.
“If someone gets a suspicious message, they’ll actually send it to me and ask, ‘Is this real?’” she said.
Sikeba said the GCI would provide a platform for cybersecurity experts, businesses, governments and individuals to share knowledge, research and practical solutions.
He said Africa’s increasingly interconnected digital systems meant that cyber threats could no longer be treated as isolated national problems.
“You and I have an important role to play,” Sikeva said.
For young Namibians, the growing threat is not only a warning but an opportunity to become more responsible digital users and develop skills that can help protect others.
Tebuho encouraged young people to take cybersecurity seriously, saying learning how to stay safe online could make a difference not only in their own lives but also in their families and communities.
Iiyambo’s journey, from losing her tuition money to pursuing cybersecurity on the other hand has shown that even a difficult experience can become a reason to learn, grow and help others.
They both anchored a similar message to young people advising them not to fear the digital world, but to understand it, stay curious, question suspicious activity and learn the skills needed to navigate technology safely, as they can become part of the solution and help build a safer digital future.
