South Africa
ZAF
Statistics South Africa confirms HR applicant portal breach; ransom rejected
Statistics South Africa confirmed a cybersecurity breach affecting its online HR job application system. A group demanded a ransom, which Stats SA said it would not pay. No broader operational disruption was reported.
15
Estimated severity
15 / 100
88
Source reliability
88 / 100
Approximate Date
30/03/2026
Targeted Company
STATISTICS SOUTH AFRICA
Targeted Company Supply Chain Impact
Distribution & Fulfillment
Procurement & Sourcing
Production & Manufacturing
Sales (Retail & Ecommerce)
Warehousing
Service Delivery
Unrecognized Impact
Supply Chain Relations
No information
Geographic Impact
Country Targeted Company
Other Affected Countries
No other affected countries reported
Target country
South Africa
Affected countries
South Africa
Impacted regions
Africa · South Africa
Operational Impact
Duration
No information
Financial impact (USD M)
No information
Impact types
No information
Affected sectors
Government & Public Administration
Affected departments
Human Resources
Attack Profile
Attack types
Data breachExtortionUnauthorized access
Attributed threat actors
XP95
Sources
Incident Sources
itweb.co.zahttps://www.itweb.co.za/article/stats-sa-confirms-data-breach-as-hackers-demand-r17m-ransom/JBwErvn3wpo76Db2connectingafrica.comhttps://www.connectingafrica.com/cybersecurity/stats-sa-confirms-cybersecurity-breach-on-hr-systemupguard.comhttps://www.upguard.com/news/statistics-south-africa-data-breach-2026-03-31