Eastern Platinum (Eastplats) has become the latest JSE-listed miner to experience a cybersecurity incident affecting its internal IT systems.
The company, which owns a number of platinum group metal (PGM) and chrome assets in SA, said on Tuesday the incident took place on May 27, just weeks after the group released a quarterly trading update.
“Upon detection, Eastplats took immediate containment measures to protect its network and data. Eastplats has since been working with cybersecurity experts to thoroughly investigate the incident’s scope and undertake necessary remedial action,” it said.
“Certain files related to its internal affairs were disclosed without authorisation by third parties on a restricted part of the internet. Eastplats is actively reviewing these files to ensure ongoing compliance with its legal obligations and to safeguard its commercial interests.”
The incident took place two weeks after the company released a downbeat first-quarter update, which showed a 5.7% decrease in revenue.
This as mine operating loss increased by $10m and net loss attributable to equity shareholders was $6.9m, with the company blaming the loss on increased production costs and site services costs incurred at the Crocodile River Mine.
Wesizwe Platinum, which owns the Bakubung mine in the North West, in December scrambled to contain a cyberattack on its operations, which exposed its finance, legal, procurement and human resources functions, including personal information.
Coincidentally, both Eastplats and Wesizwe are owned by Chinese mining firms.
SA ranks 14th for the highest average in insurance claims associated with data breaches and cybercrime, which is likely to worsen as cybercriminals harness artificial intelligence (AI), according to a report by Allianz Commercial.
The report by the corporate and speciality unit of global financial services group Allianz indicates that insurance claims involving cybercrime have risen in the past year, due largely to an increase in data and privacy breaches.
Cybercrime has hit the SA government and public institutions. An international ransomware group recently claimed responsibility for a crippling attack on the SA Health Laboratory Service, blocking patients’ lab results and compromising sensitive patient and government employee data.
The department of public works and infrastructure has lost at least R300m due to cyber theft in the past 10 years.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.