The leaks contains the ID numbers‚ ages‚ marital status‚ occupations‚ estimated incomes‚ addresses and cellphone numbers of millions of South Africans‚ both dead and alive.
“These profiles contain the confidential information‚ so it is not only your government departments‚ but private people that are also affected‚” he said.
The Department of Home Affairs said on Thursday they will be involved in the investigation.
Mulaudzi said the leak is unprecedented in South Africa. “I don’t know whether we are dealing with sophisticated people or whether it was just through chance‚ but I think it is something that is very disturbing.”
South Africans were first made aware of the leak after Australian web security expert Troy Hunt first tweeted about it on Tuesday.
He has since rechecked the information and found it contains the records of 66 million South Africans‚ 57 million alive and 9 million who have died.