SA’s national airline has confirmed that a cyber breach of its systems at the weekend disabled a number of its internal and customer-facing digital structures.
SAA said it had been affected by a “significant cyber incident” that began on May 3.
The airline, which was on the brink of collapse just a few years ago, says it put measures in place to ensure continued service for its core flight operations, while launching an investigation into the incident.
“A preliminary investigation is assessing the full extent of the incident and working to determine if any data was accessed or exfiltrated. SAA is committed to notifying any affected parties directly, in accordance with regulatory requirements, should the investigation confirm a data breach,” the national carrier said.
The breach had temporarily disrupted access to the airline’s website, mobile application and several internal operational systems.
“In response to the cyber incident that began on May 3, we acted swiftly to contain the disruption, restore services and initiate a comprehensive investigation. Our robust business continuity measures ensured operational stability, particularly for our valued customers,” SAA group CEO John Lamola said in a statement.
This adds to the growing number of cyberattacks on government-linked entities.
The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), for instance, has experienced three cyberattacks in just five years. It was disclosed in February that core systems remained encrypted and inaccessible at the service after the latest attack in November 2024.
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