Cyberattacks Threaten Uganda’s Growing Digital Economy – Airtel Warns

What the report says

Airtel Uganda is urging the creation of a national cyber resilience framework to help the country better prevent, detect, respond to and recover from attacks on critical infrastructure and essential services. The appeal was made by Airtel Uganda IT Director Uwagboe Ehimwenman during a panel discussion at Uganda’s inaugural National Cybersecurity Conference, held at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel and organized by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC).

The conference brought together participants from government, telecoms, finance, critical infrastructure and technology to discuss Uganda’s shifting cyber threat landscape. Ehimwenman said the framework should include mandatory information sharing, regular cross-sector drills and stronger safeguards for digital systems that many services depend on. He also argued that cyber resilience should be considered when approving new digital products, not only their functionality. Milton Sabiti, an IT forensics manager at the Uganda Revenue Authority, similarly stressed that incidents can quickly affect multiple institutions because of digital interconnection.

The article says the warnings come as Uganda’s digital economy expands, with UCC figures showing 45.7 million active mobile subscriptions and 17 million mobile internet subscriptions. It also cites more than 1.58 million malware infections recorded in 2023/24, underscoring the scale of the challenge. In general, the report reflects a wider regional concern that as more services move online, weak points in one sector can have broader effects across the economy and public services.