Telecom chief executive under fire as activist calls for immediate removal amid data breach 

Political activist Michael Amushelelo has called for the immediate removal of Telecom Namibia (TN) chief executive Stanley Shanapinda.

This comes after sensitive data of users was leaked during the recent cyberattack on TN.

According to Amushelelo, this can be potentially dangerous as people now have access to information that is supposed to be secret such as where people stay and information about employers.

“When you apply for services you share confidential information like bank statements, potentially sensitive information that should only be privy to you and Telecom, but now it’s all out in the public domain.

‘‘This thing has far more reaching consequences than what we may think,” says Amushelelo”. He says he has heard that the Ministry of Health and Social Services is also under cyberattack, with people’s medical records being exposed.

“It is crucial information that is now in the public domain. This is a breach of trust and should not be taken lightly,” he says.

Shanapinda in a statement said the online safety and security of the data of their customers and stakeholders remains their highest priority.

“We have recently identified and, in time, successfully contained a cyber reconnaissance mission thanks to our advanced incident monitoring and detection systems and protocols, as per our updated cybersecurity policies and controls,” he said. Shanapinda assured TN users:

“No third-party data or personal information, or customer-related data was accessed nor compromised or leaked. None of the systems hosting this information was accessed, compromised or leaked.”