The statement by finance minister Enoch Godongwana that cyber criminals attempted to hack the SA Reserve bank (SARB) on August 12, an attack that was thwarted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, graphically illustrates that we are ill-prepared in the realm of cyber warfare.
This attempted attack propels cyber warfare into a new dimension, it graphically illustrates that a perpetual race is in full swing between intruder and defender.
We are in the cross-hairs of international cyber thugs as our nation’s important institutions fall prey to these relentless intrusions.
These digital ambushes come in the insidious forms of encryptions and ransomware among an arsenal of cyber weapons.
According to Interpol, South Africa has the third-highest number of cybercrime victims worldwide, at a cost of R2.2 billion a year. We witness 580 malware attacks an hour.
There is concern that while there is something of a digital equilibrium between cyber superpowers, based on the assumption sinister intrusions will result in retaliation, some state-sponsored attacks are willing to cause serious damage.
Hi-tech cyber attacks by non-state actors and global intelligence institutions continue ceaselessly. Many unreported attacks have been merely testing of defences. In a well-planned, cyber blitzkrieg, given our modern world, which is totally dependent on technology and the money system, we would be economically paralysed.
The next event to rattle the entire world will be a sophisticated 911 mega cyber attack.
* Farouk Araie, Johannesburg.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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