Hackers are believed to have exploited vulnerabilities in the City of Ekurhuleni’s computer systems, enabling the alleged unlawful writing off of debt, manipulation of billing records, and execution of fraudulent transactions, according to ongoing investigations.
The breach, which may have cost the metro billions in unpaid rent, has raised serious concerns about cybersecurity and internal controls. Forensic and criminal investigations are now underway to determine the full extent of the losses and identify those responsible.
The crisis emerges at a challenging time for the municipality, following councilors’ rejection of Ekurhuleni’s R71 billion budget, which has created further uncertainty about the city’s financial future.
A city spokesperson confirmed that immediate actions have been taken to address the breach. “Access protocols to the systems have been upgraded. We are currently reviewing our current ICT system in relation to our finance. There were some vulnerabilities,” the spokesperson said. The city is benchmarking with other metros to identify the most suitable system, and a full overhaul of ICT infrastructure is planned once investigations conclude. Approximately R20 million has been allocated to strengthen cyber security measures. “That’s how seriously we taking this matter of cyber security and making sure our systems are safe,” the spokesperson added.
Concerns are growing that the financial fallout from the billing breach could further strain the city’s ability to maintain essential services. Political party representatives have warned that without decisive national government intervention, the municipality risks administrative paralysis.
“We do welcome the SIU’s investigation but up until now no further update has been given,” said an opposition party representative. “All the people that were involved have to be criminally charged and face trial time and jail time because this can’t happen. The metro has to put in extra measures to protect this from happening again because we can’t sit with this again. Too much money has gone to waste.”
Questions remain about the full extent of the breach and the sophistication of those responsible. A cyber security expert analyzing the incident noted the unusual nature of the attack. “This particular breach is interesting in the fact that we’re talking about money leaving the business intentionally upfront. So the loss has already been suffered at the time of the breach,” the expert explained. “What we can infer is that attacks are escalating to direct financial loss. The second is definitely an internal control failure.”
The expert added that publicly available information does not indicate a sophisticated external intrusion. “What we’re seeing here is alterations allegedly made to internal systems, which goes down to the principle of access control privileges and entitlements. Again, not a new theme within the cyber security arena but one that I don’t think gets enough focus.”
A delegation from the City of Ekurhuleni is scheduled to appear before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Wednesday for the second time in less than a month. The delegation will be required to account for the financial turmoil and other maladministration challenges currently gripping the metro.
