Econet Zimbabwe denies alleged data breach but if true what does it mean for us users

Cybersecurity is a must know for techies and non techies alike, given the rise in Cyber threats across the globe, with it proving to be a billion dollar industry for Cyber criminals. It was reported earlier that Zimbabwe’s largest mobile network service, Econent Wireless was the latest victim of such kind of attacks but the company has scoffed at media reports that its customer records have been compromised in a large-scale data breach. While the story is still developing what does this mean for us users and what steps should we take to ensure that our data and accounts are safe and secure.

These kind of attacks are nothing new in Zimbabwe and in the whole world, a few decades this would be newsworthy to cover front pages of all media outlets in the world but now this has become a normal thing in the corporate world. Companies have had their data held hostage in exchange for hefty ransomware payments which actually fuels these attacks given the lucrative opportunities in carrying out these attacks.
As reported by news day Econet released a statement saying

“Econet Wireless Zimbabwe is aware of a social media post first made on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday (February 4, 2025) claiming that a threat actor was selling part of the Econet’s subscriber list containing 852 791 customer records, the telco said in a statement.

“Our internal investigations, which started immediately on the day the allegations were made, have detected no breach on our systems that would lead to unauthorised access to sensitive customer data, that is not already in the public domain or accessible through third parties.“However, because we take claims of any breach of our systems very seriously, the moment the allegations were first reported, we activated our incident management processes, working alongside international cybersecurity experts, and have been monitoring our systems 24/7 to ensure heightened security of our business systems and the privacy of our customers’ sensitive data.

 “We have also kept our regulators and relevant authorities informed."

Ok so us users, are going to take any chances with our data and finances?, the answer is no.

So why really do they sell such records and why do people buy them?

As users we have to be aware when things like this happen because some of your numbers are linked to Ecocash wallets and furthermore some have made virtual master cards linked to their Ecocash wallets for online payments to anywhere in the world. The reason why some data brokers buy such type of data is because mainly of the reasons mentioned above, your phone number could be the one you use on your financial systems, on your social media accounts so in theory there is a lot of harm they can do by accessing such private records that’s why it’s important companies inform users when such breaches occur so that users can also take appropriate measures.

Checkout the video of how how dangerous sharing personal information on the internet is:

Things shifted from years ago when cyber criminals had to rely heavily on ethical hacking but nowadays there are powerful tools that could be used to attack users without even them noticing. While technology has evolved no one has really taken their time to educate the basic users on safety, regulations and how to navigate the internet in general. Once they have your phone records and profile you using that data sometimes that when you see deductions you don’t understand in your accounts, online purchases you never made.

So what should you do?

Ok for starters you need to change all your passwords in your social media accounts. You also need to log out of all your accounts and log back in and also remember to enable 2 factor authentication. Another thing is to also log out of any online wallets like PayPal e.t.c then log back in also enabling 2 factor authentication. You also need to pause any online spending at the moment until things cool down.

To protect yourself you should also be wary of click here to win baits, sometimes for advanced attacks once you click you are gone so always be vigilant nothing is free. For those who visit more dangerous sites practice the use of VPNs.

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