Information Regulator chair Pansy Tlakula

The Information Regulator is investigating a report that South Africa’s State Security Agency (SSA) fell victim to a cyberattack in August.

Pansy Tlakula, chair of the Information Regulator, told the TechCentral Show (TCS) on Thursday that she is aware of the reports about the incident, and is now launching an “own-initiative investigation”.

“There are two of these (own-initiative probes) we are looking at: the department of defence and the SSA,” she said, referring to a recent cyberattack on the defence department. Asked whether she thinks the SSA matter merits a detailed investigation — and possible enforcement action — she said it’s too early to know.

The SSA, whose mandate is to “provide the government with intelligence on domestic and foreign threats”, was hacked days before the start of the Brics summit in Johannesburg in August, according to a report in the Sunday World newspaper.

After repeated calls by TechCentral to various government spokespeople, eventually the spokesman for minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni – under whom the SSA falls – said the department had “no comment” to offer.

The Sunday World article made several damning allegations, including that sensitive and compromising information was leaked. The report said a senior official, Joe Mbhambhu, was made to take the fall for the leak, despite not being responsible for the SSA cyber unit.

‘Top secret’

The newspaper quoted a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, who said it constituted treason and espionage. “They strongly suspect the hackers received a helping hand from people within the agency,” the source was quoted as saying. The source also claimed they were told to keep the whole incident a “top secret because it was embarrassing”.

Media Monitoring Africa director William Bird told TechCentral that the official response to the alleged hack is deeply worrying. “Just because the agency is dealing with state secrets does not mean it can operate in secret,” he said. ”It’s outrageous! While we are still part of a constitutional democracy, we have to act like one, and there are rules and responsibilities.” — Additional reporting by Sandra Laurence, (c) 2023 NewsCentral Media

The interview with Pansy Tlakula will be published in full in the coming days – subscribe to the TechCentral Show on YouTube to be alerted the moment it goes live