South Africa's agency responsible for registering companies and protecting their rights, the Enterprise and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) under the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, has been attacked by a cyberattack.
In a media statement released on February 29, CIPC said it became aware that its database had suffered an “attempted” security breach that targeted the personal information of its customers and employees. However, the registry does not state how much information was compromised.
“Our ICT technicians are alerted to potential security breaches due to the extensive firewalls and data protection systems in place at CIPC, and as a result, certain CIPC systems are It was immediately shut down,” the communiqué said.
Established in 2008, CIPC investigates millions of South African businesses, including private, public and privately held establishments. The agency exists to facilitate the conduct of business, apart from registering companies and monitoring domestic companies' compliance with corporate and intellectual property laws.
Although the commission has not given any indication as to why the cyberattack occurred or who was responsible, it clearly appears that the situation could not have been averted early enough to prevent the data from being leaked.
This puts at risk the names, addresses, and contact information of company directors and owners, as well as the names, addresses, and contact information of patent and trademark owners.
“Unfortunately, certain personal information of our clients and CIPC employees was unlawfully accessed and exposed. CIPC clients take care to monitor credit card transactions and only approve/approve known valid transaction requests. You are urged to allow it. The extent of the exposure is currently under investigation. We are investigating and will contact you as soon as possible,” officials said.
“CIPC recognizes the importance of consistent system availability and protection of information that is not in the public domain, and we are actively working to minimize the impact on CIPC customers and employees.” thinking.
This is the number of times governments have been subject to cyberattacks. The Department of Defence, the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and even President Cyril Ramaphosa have all been involved in similar intrusions over the last year.
Cybercrime has been on the rise in the South since the coronavirus pandemic began. It is the most targeted country in Africa, with more than half of domestic startups affected by ransomware in recent years.
