The establishment of a Cyber Incident Response Team in the country ranks high among the priority areas contained in a three-year Integrated Business Strategic Plan (ISBP) of the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), which was launched on Thursday.

The authority is set to make provision of resources to operationalise the Cyber Incident Response Team, whose responsibility is to prevent, detect, monitor, and respond to security threats, thereby ensuring security and stability to critical information infrastructures.

This comes hot on the heels of a security breach that occurred on the national system in 2021, which affected websites, including banking services.

"CRAN’s 2023 to 2026 ISBP aims to improve service provision to customers and address the affordability of ICT services in the sector. Enhancement of legislative services also features prominently in areas of electronic transactions, postal, data protection, cybersecurity laws, implementation of Part 6 of the Communications Act (No. 8 of 2009), as well as the establishment of the Cyber Incident Response Team in the country with provision for resources to operationalise it," said CRAN's Head of Communications Katrina Sikeni.

CRAN launched its IBSP for the period 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2026 in line with the provisions of the Communications Act (No. 8 of 2009) and the Public Enterprises Governance Act (No. 1 of 2019).

According to CRAN, the strategic plan is necessitated by the need to build on the preceding plan (2020-2023), hence putting more emphasis on the execution of the core mandates of the Regulatory Authority through the added strategic themes of 'Digital Transformation and Market Development and Consumer Protection.'

"CRAN has an important role in terms of advising and supporting the government and the provisions of sustainable socio-economic development through telecommunications, broadcasting, and postal services. It is thus important that CRAN analyses international trends to ensure the development of a forward-looking regulatory environment that serves the national agenda for current and future needs," said Sikeni.

Minister of Information and Communication Technology Dr. Peya Mushelenga stressed that CRAN has a mandate and a strategic goal of expanding coverage for ICT as well as improving performance and service delivery through various efforts.

"One of such efforts is digitalisation, and to promote infrastructure development as a catalyst for economic growth, social progression, and a contributor to global competitiveness and investment attraction,” Mushelenga added.

CRAN’s Chief Executive Officer Emilia Nghikembua reiterated Mushelenga's sentiments, saying: “We at CRAN are placing emphasis on our strategic priorities, namely, Organisational Sustainability, Strategic Partnering and Collaborations, Digital Transformation, and Market Development and Consumer Protection, in order to be consistent and in sync with the Ministerial and governmental objectives as outlined in the MICT strategic plan and various national policies and agendas, such as the HHP II, Vision 2030, Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5), and subsequent Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6).”

Nghikembua added that CRAN will continue to contribute to the implementation of Vision 2030 through various ICT strategies by developing a comprehensive regulatory framework for the ICT and Postal sectors. Another pillar is contributing to the provision of access to quality, reliable, and affordable ICT and postal services for the economic benefits of the nation.

CRAN Chairperson Heinrich Mihe Gaomab II said: "It is CRAN’s responsibility as a Regulator of the ICT sector to ensure that service providers stretch their products and services to underserved and unserved areas. This should be done to expand on universal access, which in turn offers many benefits such as building a knowledge-based society, as communities have access to information.”

The rise of digital technologies has been nothing short of transformative, changing the way we live and work in ways that would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago.