Hawks to probe massive data leak

The largest data leak in South African history just got bigger.

Troy Hunt, the Australian web security expert who first alerted South Africans to the leak, said the "data dump" actually contains the information of just more than 60 million South Africans - about twice as many as mentioned earlier in the week.

Hunt has now completed importing all the information he stumbled across.

The leak contains the ID numbers, ages, locations, marital status, occupations, estimated incomes, addresses and cellphone numbers of millions of South Africans, both dead and alive.

Hunt has uploaded the e-mail addresses compromised in the data leak to his website HaveIBeenPwnd.com, where anyone can enter their e-mail address to see if it has been affected.

The dump includes personal information of the likes of President Jacob Zuma, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and Police Minister Fikile Mbalula.

The Hawks and the Department of Home Affairs confirmed on Thursday they would be investigating the matter.

Acting Hawks head Lieutenant General Yolisa Matakata has instructed his cybercrime unit to lead the probe.

"The Hawks typically do not comment on ongoing investigations. However, in light of the intense public interest and the potential impact of this matter, the Hawks are collaborating with other law-enforcement agencies and stakeholders investigating the data breach," she said.

The Department of Home Affairs said the government would communicate on the leak via the Hawks.

One of South Africa's top real estate firms admitted to being the unwitting source of the data hacked in the largest-known personal data breach.

The information originated from Jigsaw Holdings, which includes real estate agencies Aida, ERA and Realty-1.

Aida CEO Braam de Jager said he had "absolutely no idea" how the information was published on the firm's server."

De Jager said the information was bought from credit bureau Dracore in 2014 to enable it to trace potential clients who wanted to sell their houses.