Africa-Press – Namibia. The Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) has remained silent following reports that its e-learning system may have been hacked between 18 and 20 April.
During the Easter weekend, students could not access the eLearning platform. The system was reportedly down, and some learners were unable to submit their assignments.
Sources within the university, who requested anonymity, claimed that the breach may have caused some students’ assessments to disappear.
“Some students were asked to resubmit their assessments, especially assignments. I cannot confirm whether the hackers managed to access student information or not, but you can find out from the management,” one source said.
A student also confirmed he struggled to access the platform over Easter weekend.
“I tried submitting my assignment over Easter weekend, but I was surprised to see foreign languages on the site, which was unfamiliar. I contacted a friend, and she said the site was hacked,” he said.
On 20 April, Nust’s Communications Department acknowledged that the university experienced a disruption.
“The Namibia University of Science and Technology’s eLearning system recently experienced interruptions. The system has since been partially restored and is now accessible to users. Our system administrators are actively working in the background to complete the full restoration, while tracing the source of the interruptions,” the statement read.
When asked for further details, Nust’s public relations officer, Cindy van Wyk, declined to comment.
“This matter has been addressed through the appropriate internal channels. Nust will, therefore, not be engaging with the media on the issue. Thank you for your understanding,” she said.
In recent months, cyberattacks have affected several institutions in the country. In December last year, international ransomware group Hunters International targeted Telecom Namibia.
The attackers exfiltrated 626 gigabytes of sensitive data, including records from government ministries, municipalities, and corporate clients like Qatar Airways, Namibian and Ethiopian Airlines. Telecom Namibia refused to pay the ransom. The hackers released the data on the dark web.
Two months ago, Paratus Namibia Holdings Limited was also hit. A compromised internal user account led to an attack that disrupted its 083 voice systems and various cloud-hosted platforms. Paratus brought in international cybersecurity experts to investigate and contain the breach.
A month ago, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) and the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) renewed calls for urgent reforms to the country’s cybercrime and data protection laws.
Data from the Cyber Security Incident Response Team (NAM-CSIRT), established under CRAN, shows Namibia recorded around 2.6 million cyberattack attempts between 2022 and 2024.
In 2024 alone, the country experienced over 1.1 million cyberattack attempts.
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