Analyses & Studies

Unveiling South Africa's Cyber Vulnerabilities Through Notable Cyber Attacks 

iDefense, a security intelligence company, identified several factors that were exacerbating South Africa's increasingly dangerous cyber threat landscape, among which lack of investment in cybersecurity, slow development of cybercrime legislation, and lack of awareness of cyber threats. Below are instances of cyber-attacks that took place in South Africa: 

Moroccan Hacker Strikes South African Government Sites 

In 2012, a Moroccan hacker called H4ksniper claimed responsibility for disrupting three South African government websites. The website of the social development department opened to a black page with a window containing the animated graphic website hacked by H4ksniper. On asking, the hacker said that the reason for the hack was " We all know that SA is the first supporter of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (RASD) and the enemy of Morocco for a long time, and we are hackers, and our goal is defending our country..." 

South Africa's PII Exposures 

From 2013 to 2014, there were multiple instances of accidental disclosures of confidential data. Security researchers discovered on numerous occasions the inadvertent exposure of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) by South African mobile operator Vodacom. Such PII exposure can pose serious consequences for organizations, particularly with the implementation of South Africa's 2013 Protection of Personal Information Act in 2013. 

The Rise of Ransomware and the EternalBlue Menace 

During the latter half of the decade, the frequent occurrence of ransomware attacks became a global trend. In 2017, EternalBlue, a Microsoft software exploit developed by the NSA (National Security Agency) to gather intelligence, was leaked by the Shadow Brokers hacker group, causing a global cyberattack. 

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Cyber crime is defined as criminal activity that either targets or uses a computer, a computer network or a networked device. Cybercrime can be software piracy, exit scam, cyberespionage, identity theft, or cyberextortion for example.  

With South Africa ranking 5th on the global cybercrime density list, cyber security leaders must unite to tackle the escalating challenges. 

To find out more about cybercrime and ensure rapid business recovery, take part in our event and listen to our experts from the French Embassy in South Africa on March 14th. 

To register, click here.