Stakeholders in Uganda’s technology, finance, telecommunications and public sectors have called for increased investment in cybersecurity to protect the country’s rapidly expanding digital economy from growing cyber threats. This call was made during the inaugural National Cybersecurity Conference at Serena Hotel in Kampala.
While giving his keynote speech, the Bank of Uganda Governor Michael Atingi-Ego said cybersecurity must be treated as a critical economic investment rather than merely an Information Technology concern.
“Uganda’s digital transformation will succeed only if finance, technology and trust advance together,” Atingi-Ego said.
He said trust is critical to encouraging citizens to use digital services, businesses to invest in digital platforms and investors to have confidence in Uganda’s digital economy.
“Trust is not a soft virtue added on top of sound economics; it is infrastructure — as real, and as load-bearing, as a road or a power line,” he said.
Atingi-Ego warned that Uganda’s growing digital footprint is increasing exposure to cyber threats. He noted that reported cybercrime cases rose from 245 in 2023 to 474 in 2024, before declining to 412 in 2025.
He urged institutions to invest in cyber resilience, including tested backup systems, continuity plans, incident response mechanisms and stronger governance.
“A continuity plan nobody has rehearsed, a backup nobody has restored, is not yet a capability. It is a hope written down on paper,” he said.
Uganda Communications Commission Executive Director Nyombi Thembo said investment in connectivity must be accompanied by investment in cybersecurity.
“At UCC, we emphasise connectivity, but expanding our networks is only half the journey. If we succeed in connecting every citizen, business, and public service, yet those connections cannot be trusted, we have not truly succeeded,” Thembo said.
He said UCC’s latest Communications Sector Cybersecurity Posture Report shows reported malware infections declining from 1.59 million to 1.41 million, although the sector’s overall security rating remains in the basic category.
Thembo identified real-time threat-intelligence sharing, coordinated incident response, board-level cyber-risk governance, investment in local cybersecurity talent and consumer protection as key priorities.
State Minister for Information, Communication and Technology Joyce Ssebugwawo also called on Government, regulators, businesses, financial institutions, technology companies and security agencies to strengthen investment and accountability in cybersecurity.
She urged Boards, Accounting Officers and CEOs to place cybersecurity at the centre of institutional risk management and leadership discussions.
Atingi-Ego said Uganda must embed cybersecurity into digital products and services from the beginning rather than treating it as an afterthought.
“Security, properly understood, is not the tax we pay for innovation. It is one of the conditions that makes innovation sustainable,” he said.
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