Transnet: SA easy targets for hackers

THE increasing prevalence of cyber attacks in South Africa has become a scary reality for many businesses and experts warn that the country is woefully ill-equipped to deal with the global increase in these attacks driven by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This week, Transnet declared force majeure after experiencing disruptions caused by a cyber attack that further impacted already snarled business in key ports such as Durban and Cape Town.

The the force majeure declared by Transnet’s ports terminals operating division is expected to be lifted tomorrow.

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan said full operations would be restored at ports after Transnet’s IT department experienced a security breach. The cyber attack disrupted normal processes and damaged equipment and information.

The IT disruptions have had a noticeable impact on operations at the Port of Cape Town. This has resulted in seven days of operation being lost, which caused the delay of more than 10 000 containers, and two vessels at the Port of Cape Town. Additionally, three vessels are still at berth, and six container vessels are waiting at anchorage.

The Port of Cape Town is 90% online and systems were still backed up on the Cape Town multi-terminal said Transnet regional corporate affairs manager Lipuo Lebakeng.

In May, Virgin Active experienced a ransomware attack that encrypted files on their system, which left it inoperable.

The recent attack on Transnet and Virgin Active raises questions on whether the country is equipped to deal with the ongoing security breaches.

Last year the hack at Experian SA exposed personal information of as many as 24 million South Africans and almost 800 000 businesses according to the SA Banking Risk Centre, set up by major lenders to combat bank-related organised crime.

Global rankings place South Africa 59th among 182 countries for cyber security, and in eighth place on the continent. Among the risks faced are ransomware attacks, which can cost many millions.

Atvance Intellect’s managing director, Steven Ambrose, said the Transnet cyber security attack was targeted.

“It was perfectly planned and automated. Attacks like these happen when vulnerabilities in systems are identified,” he said.

Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier said exports were critical to the province’s economic recovery. “While we welcome the return of Transnet’s IT systems, we remain concerned about the delays which have resulted. These delays are a bigger cost to doing business than direct cargo handling charges,” he said.

President of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jacques Moolman said that declaring force majeure so soon was an unwise decision. “The Transnet computer failure last week, which it swiftly described as a cyber attack and sabotage as justification for declaring force majeure, naturally spooked an already wary shipping industry.”