Lesotho Domain Name System (DNS) Resilience Training was a success!
We have completed our second DNS Resilience Training as part of our DNS Abuse project in the SADC region. There's something powerful about watching a room full of professionals experience that "aha" moment when abstract concepts suddenly click into practical understanding. That's exactly what unfolded at Lancers Inn Hotel in Maseru, where over 30 ICT professionals from across Lesotho gathered for an intensive five-day DNS Resilience Training.
DNS resilience, the ability of this system to withstand attacks, recover from disruptions, and maintain reliable service is critical for any nation's digital infrastructure. With DNS-based attacks rising globally, this training couldn't have come at a better time.
Over five days, participants experienced a journey of transformation. The program began with DNS governance, exploring the policies, strategies, and frameworks that shape national internet infrastructure. It then moved into technical foundations, covering DNS fundamentals and Linux command-line skills. The third and fourth days turned the conference room into a hands-on lab, where participants configured client machines, cache-only servers, and authoritative name servers from scratch. A pivotal moment came when they witnessed a DNS spoofing attack succeed in real time, followed immediately by the implementation of countermeasures such as Response Rate Limiting, logging, and monitoring to prevent such threats. The final day brought everything together with DNSSEC implementation and collaborative research sessions, reinforcing both technical resilience and regional cooperation.
Why does a DNS Resilience matters?
DNS resilience is a foundational requirement for secure, reliable, and trusted digital ecosystems. In 2020, the stability of South Africa’s domain namespace came under significant pressure as DNS abuse escalated, with the ZA Central Registry (ZACR) reporting growing incidents of domain hijacking, cyber-squatting, malware distribution, and botnet activity. By 2024, these threats had intensified and spread across the region, with attackers deploying increasingly sophisticated techniques to mimic the domains of globally trusted organisations such as Nike, Adidas, and Amazon – undermining consumer trust and exposing citizens and institutions to financial and reputational harm.
Across Africa, inadequate regulatory frameworks, uneven DNS governance, and limited coordination between registries, regulators, and enforcement bodies have left critical DNS infrastructure vulnerable. More importantly, many countries continue to face gaps in awareness and technical capacity, making it difficult to detect, respond to, and mitigate DNS-based attacks effectively. As African nations accelerate digital transformation and expand e-government, financial services, and online commerce, the resilience of the DNS layer becomes a matter of national digital sovereignty and public trust.
It is within this context that C3SA’s DNS Resilience Training becomes essential. The 30-plus professionals trained this week operate across Lesotho’s digital ecosystem, including telecommunications providers, regulatory authorities, financial institutions, and government agencies. Equipped with practical, hands-on skills, these professionals are now better positioned to strengthen the DNS infrastructure that underpins essential services relied upon by citizens every day.
The impact of this training extends beyond the classroom. Knowledge shared multiplies. Participants will transfer skills to colleagues, implement concrete security improvements within their organisations, and contribute to raising national and regional standards for DNS security.
Cyber threats will continue evolving. But so should our safeguards, one training, one professional, one country at a time will help us commit to our mission of building a cyber resilient Africa.
Partnerships That Make a Difference
The C3SA team—Prof Wallace Chigona (Director), Dr Laban Bagui (Senior Researcher & CMM Deployment Lead), Dr Luzuko Tekeni (Senior Researcher & Trainer), and Mr Adrian Mlilo (Research Assistant & Junior Trainer)—brought combined expertise that made complex concepts accessible.
The DNS Resilience Training was organised by the Lesotho Communications Authority, Internet Society Lesotho Chapter, and C3SA, with support from ICANN.
Is your country in need for a DNS training?
Contact us on c3sa@uct.ac.za