The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission systems was hacked on 29 February and some personal information was compromised.

In a notice on the CIPC website CIPC noted  an attempted security breach and the compromise of personal information of clients and CIPC employees, held on the CIPC records.

 Our ICT technicians were alerted, due to extensive firewall and data protection systems in place at the CIPC, to a possible security compromise and as a result, certain CIPC systems were shut down immediately to mitigate any possible damage.

Lungile Dukwana, Chief Strategy Executive wrote: “Through the diligent efforts of the ICT and information security teams, the compromise was isolated and curtailed and the relevant systems are back up and available for processing.

“Unfortunately, certain personal information of our clients and CIPC employees was unlawfully accessed and exposed. CIPC clients are urged to be vigilant in the monitoring of credit card transactions and ONLY approve/authorise known and valid transaction requests. The extent of the exposure is being investigated and will be communicated as soon as possible.

The CIPC recognises the importance of the consistent availability of our systems and the safeguarding of information that is not in the public domain and is working actively to minimise the impact on the CIPC clients and employees.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused and assure you that every reasonable step is taken to ensure that all CIPC systems and platforms are safe and protected from unauthorised and/or unlawful access.”