Johannesburg – While IT experts are working against the clock to determine who was behind the data sabotage at Transnet, opposition parties weighed in, saying the country’s intelligence services should answer to allegations that a well-organised criminal syndicate was behind the cyberattack.
The attack brought to a halt Transnet’s cargo-moving technology, which resulted in cargo ships getting stranded at the country’s ports. The state-owned freight company’s division subsequently declared a force majeure ( event beyond control) that is expected to be lifted tomorrow after major ports reported that operations were gradually returning to normal.
The security intrusion and sabotage severely hit container terminals in the usually bustling Durban harbour and port of Cape Town.
The IFP said the government should consider the assistance of an international organisation to identify the key role players behind the attack on one of the lifebloods of the country’s economy.
“This is a clear indication that state security is not on top of crime. There is just no capacity in the intelligence apparatus, which renders the country vulnerable to not only crime, but terrorism as well ,” said IFP acting spokesperson Narend Singh. The DA said there was more to the Transnet cyberattack than meets the eye.
“This is a very serious threat because Transnet IT systems are connected to both SA Revenue Service and customs. It appears that there is a serious and a targeted strategy to destabilise the country. “The response from the minister in charge of public enterprises is mild and vague, we need accountability from the intelligence services,” said DA spokesperson on public enterprises Ghaleb Cachalia.
He added that his party will, through the Promotion of Access to Information Act, call for State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo to make public the report on what the country’s intelligence had gathered on the cyberattack.
“We will force the state security minister to make the security assessment public. If there is none, we also need answers as to why they did not know about the threat. It cannot be business as usual, heads must roll,” Cachalia said.
It has since emerged that an international cybercrime syndicate might have been behind the collapse of the Transnet online data after the alleged hackers left an online message demanding a ransom.
There are also fears that the hackers might also attempt to collapse the national IT infrastructure.
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