Lorreta Songola
FOR a Zimbabwean business, a cyberattack can mean far more than just stolen data.
It can stop manufacturing, interrupt financial transactions, compromise sensitive information or prevent essential public services from reaching the people who depend on them. That’s why security needs to be built into systems and applications from the start, instead of as an afterthought.
Now is the time for business leaders to ensure they have measures in place to prevent cyberattacks and keep operating when an intrusion succeeds.
But how serious is the threat really?
According to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), the country had almost 14 million active internet subscriptions in the first quarter of 2026. This creates opportunities for innovation, but it also expands potential entry points for cybercriminals, with Zimbabwe facing 906 DDoS attacks in the same period. Artificial intelligence adds another dimension, with INTERPOL reporting that AI is now enabling 55% of reported cybercrimes across the continent, allowing criminals to launch attacks faster and at greater scale.
At Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a business of Cassava Technologies, our work supporting Zimbabwean businesses across the digital ecosystem has made it clear that cybersecurity cannot be separated from the digital infrastructure businesses depend on. Protecting connectivity, cloud platforms, applications and data must be part of the same strategy.
Different threats, common weaknesses
No industry is exempt from cyberattacks, and no one can predict what attackers will target. Financial institutions attract financially motivated attackers. Manufacturers and mining companies may face ransomware, impersonation fraud or theft of commercially sensitive information. Public institutions need to protect sensitive data and essential services.
However, there are often some common threads when it comes to weaknesses. Employees who unintentionally expose systems through phishing. Outdated software leaving gaps that can be exploited, or inadequate monitoring that lets attackers operate undetected. Many businesses are already being accessed by threat actors and do not know it.
As organisations adopt more cloud services and connected applications, these weaknesses multiply unless security is built in from the start, or secure-by-design, with visibility across identities, devices, email, networks, and applications. Retrofitting protection after deployment is both more expensive and less effective.
Five steps towards stronger resilience
Five priorities can deliver meaningful improvements.
1. Start with people. Regular awareness training helps employees recognise phishing and suspicious links. Even sophisticated defences can be undermined by human error.
2. Identify and address vulnerabilities. Assess internet-facing systems and prioritise patching critical weaknesses before attackers exploit them.
3. Prepare for disruption. Maintain secure, offline backups and a business continuity plan for recovering essential systems.
4. Improve visibility. Continuous monitoring detects suspicious activity early, before damage spreads.
5. Strengthen identity protection. Multi-factor authentication guards against unauthorised access, particularly when credentials are compromised.
Supporting all five should be governance and regulatory compliance, with clear accountability for cyber risk.
From protection to recovery
So, what should a business do if an incident occurs? The first step is to alert POTRAZ, as required under Zimbabwe’s Cyber and Data Protection Act. Next, identify affected systems, contain the threat, and assess the damage so clients, service providers, and other stakeholders can be kept informed. This is where a tested disaster recovery capability is invaluable. It lets the organisation shut down the compromised environment and activate a clean site, keeping services available while systems are restored. Afterwards, understanding how the attack happened is essential to preventing the next one.
All of this requires specialist skills, which smaller businesses often can’t sustain full-time, so they turn to external service providers. Outsourced solutions could include continuous monitoring, detection and response; help choosing endpoint and identity protection; and senior guidance on policy, governance and risk, which some providers now offer as a virtual CISO service.
Liquid’s Secure360 framework, brings these together across governance, risk and compliance, cyber risk assurance, cyber defence and security solutions, so organisations can access specialist capability without building a large internal team.
Securing Zimbabwe’s digital future
Zimbabwe’s digital growth depends on confidence in the infrastructure and services businesses use. That requires collaboration between organisations, technology providers and regulators, supported by investment in skills, awareness and preparedness. While no organisation is immune, they also don’t have to face the threat alone.
Ultimately, cyber resilience is not about whether an organisation will face an attack, but whether it can withstand the disruption, recover and continue serving its customers.
Lorreta Songola is the VP and Chief Executive Officer, Liquid Intelligent Technologies Zimbabwe
Cyber resilience for a connected Zimbabwe
