Hackers demand R5.4 million in Bitcoin

FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana has confirmed that the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa was hit by a ransomware attack earlier this year.

- MTHOBISI NOZULELA [e-mail]

The attack occurred on January 12.

The Minister revealed this in a parliamentary reply to uMkhonto weSizwe MP Adil Nchabeleng, who had asked him about the nature of the breach, the systems affected, and whether a ransom had been demanded. The Minister said that hackers demanded 5 Bitcoin, about R5.4 million, but the bank did not pay. He confirmed that critical banking systems and farmer data were not compromised.

"Land Bank detected unauthorised activity within parts of its computer systems.

"Preliminary investigations indicated that a third party gained access through a vulnerability on an internet-facing server and deployed ransomware, which encrypted a portion of the Land Bank server environment as well as multiple laptops." Godongwana said.