Overview
- Stats SA, which on Sunday confirmed a breach of its online hiring system, says the incident did not touch its core statistics platforms.
- The group calling itself XP95 claims it stole 453,362 files totaling 154 GB and is seeking $100,000 with a 20 April deadline to prevent a leak.
- The agency says it is working with national cyber response teams and will notify the Information Regulator as it verifies what records were accessed.
- Security firm Cyber Sec Clinique says Stats SA is downplaying the risk and warns that full job applications could be exposed for many applicants.
- XP95 has been linked in reports to a Gauteng provincial breach earlier in March, highlighting South Africa’s ongoing struggle with large data leaks.