The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), Sihle Zikalala, has ordered a “full forensic investigation" into the department’s Information and Technology Systems focussing on the vulnerability and resilience of ICT infrastructure within the department, capacity of staff, ICT systems and the improvement of internal controls.
This follows vulnerabilities identified by the department and its banking partners, including Absa and the South African Reserve Bank.
In a statement, the department said the investigation will involve among others the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), the SA Police Services, and experts in the ICT and cyber security industry.
The department said the current investigations will have implications on the processing of payments to creditors and beneficiaries, and appealed for patience from these partners as it undertakes these measures to protect itself, State resources and its clients from cyber criminals.
The department had earlier this year warned of a growing procurement scam where service providers reportedly lost millions of rand from businesses that dealt with people, masquerading as its employees, and where fraudulent orders were supplied by people who were unknown and had no link to the department, using names of current and former DPWI employees.
Fraudsters also provided counterfeit Request for Quote (RFQ) documents with the department’s logo and address, which appeared to be legitimate.
The DPWI said that “The modus operandi included calling unsuspecting service providers and emailing forged DPWI order documents, and requesting the provision of expensive electronic equipment, machinery and even vehicles.
“The unsuspecting service providers were then told to deliver the goods at locations usually close to DPWI offices and sites, but never inside the official building/site.”
The fraudsters would then request for the invoice to be electronically sent to a bogus email address before vanishing without paying for the goods, leaving victims with huge debts.
"Minister Zikalala is concerned that the department may be becoming a soft target for increasingly sophisticated cyber-crimes due to the nature of its business,“ the department said.
“The department is at this stage quantifying the impact of the vulnerabilities and with the support of experts build its cyber resilience capabilities.”
BUSINESS REPORT