Simon Nare
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has revealed that the department has been siphoned off a stupefying R300 million by cyber criminals over the past decade in what he suspected was in collusion with departmental officials.
Macpherson in a statement on Wednesday further revealed that in the latest episode, these cyber thugs stole R24 million in one fell swoop which prompted an investigation by police in collaboration with State Security Agency, experts in information and communication technology and cyber security industry.
“It has become clear that the department has been a soft target and playground for cyber criminals for over a 10-year period and this should have been picked up a lot earlier. I felt it important to let South Africans know what has happened and what we are doing about it.
“I cannot discount the possibility of collusion between officials and criminals in this prolonged period of theft. It is clear that we need better financial controls which I have said to the department are a matter of urgency,” he said.
Macpherson said thus far four officials have been suspended and 30 laptops seized by investigators. The suspended officials included three senior and one middle management official.
After the discovery of the crime, the department shut down its payment system which resulted in delays in paying its creditors.
“We want to put a stop to this immediately because we cannot allow our department to be subjected to unchecked looting. This is money that could have been spent on our infrastructure drive to improve the lives of South Africans,” he said, adding that the investigation will be widened to pursue masterminds and beneficiaries of the grand theft.
In May this year, before his appointment, Macpherson said the department launched a full forensic probe into what was described as vulnerabilities in the information and technology systems.
And it identified the cyber-security vulnerabilities with the help of its banking partners including ABSA and the South African Reserve Bank.
The probe, composed of cyber and ICT security experts, covered causes of the breach and vulnerabilities, vulnerability and susceptibility to cyber crime of the ICT infrastructure within the department as well as lack of staff capability and weak ICT systems.
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