The DA is intensifying its efforts to create a Cyber Commission, with news on Tuesday that it has tabled a private members bill in parliament to this effect.
DA justice & constitutional development spokeswoman Glynnis Breytenbach said that while the response from the private sector and academia has been “overwhelmingly positive”, the bill’s reception in government and the public sector has been “predictably less positive”.
“It appears from police statistics that they have only 544 cyber-related fraud cases on their register, yet in excess of 100 000 cyberattacks on banking accounts occurred in 2024, according to Sabric. This represents a loss of around R1.8-billion loss to individuals and represents an 86% increase in such attacks from the previous year,” she said in a statement.
The South African Police Service and the Information Regulator are underfunded and ill-equipped, making urgent action on the bill essential, she added. “As the cyberattacks on the country and our institutions increase daily and the costs attached thereto continue to escalate, it remains a piece of legislation that requires serious consideration.”
Sabric said in August that the number of digital banking fraud cases doubled between 2023 and 2024, with financial losses increasing from R1-billion to R1.4-billion.
“Clearly, there is a distinct problem in the fact that the police have so few matters under investigation while the actual attacks have almost doubled. This again underlines the fact that we are in no position to deal effectively with the risk of cybercrime in South Africa,” Breytenbach said.
“Our country is targeted precisely because of our inadequate structures set up to deal with this issue.”
Private members bills
Private members bills usually concern matters of interest to specific constituencies. Their drafting and certification are done by the parliamentary legal adviser, and cabinet has no role in their drafting.
According to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, input is required from a department or organ of the state that might be affected by the proposed bill. The relevant parliamentary committee will have to discuss those inputs.
Read: DA calls for creation of independent Cyber Commission
Breytenbach will have to inform the committee if she receives any public inputs, which must be presented to the committee. These inputs will inform MPs’ discussions.
The committee decides after due deliberation on a motion of desirability on the bill on whether to adopt it. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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