Residents and businesses across several Eastern Cape municipalities, including Buffalo City Metro (BCM), were left unable to buy prepaid electricity over the weekend after a technical failure linked to an attempted cyber attack disrupted online vending systems.
The outage affected consumers in BCM, Alfred Nzo District, Ndlambe, and the Amahlathi municipalities, among others.
Utilities World, a service provider to several municipalities across the country, on Monday attributed the disruption to “an attempted hack” on its system in the early hours of Sunday.
While the company said the attempted breach occurred early on Sunday morning, some BCM residents reported being unable to buy electricity from as early as Friday evening.
We can confirm that there was an attempt to hack our system, but fortunately this did not succeed because of our quick response
— Toni Sanna, Utilities World spokesperso
By Monday afternoon, affected municipalities said the system had been restored, though intermittent problems were still reported in parts of Mdantsane, Zwelitsha and Phakamisa.
Utilities World spokesperson Toni Sanna confirmed the attempted cyber attack.
“We can confirm that there was an attempt to hack our system, but fortunately this did not succeed because of our quick response.”
She said the attempted attack was detected by the company’s team, which then shut down its servers as a precautionary measure to ensure that the integrity and protection of their data remained intact.
The shutdown meant customers in certain areas were unable to buy electricity through vending sites, banking apps or municipal offices.
“Throughout Sunday, the company identified and eliminated the threat.
“The servers have been restored and vending in the distribution channel will recommence in stages.
“The company also confirms that no customer or municipal data has been compromised during the attempted hack of our systems.”
Sanna said the company did not anticipate a recurrence.
BCM initially alerted residents to the problem in a social media notice on Sunday.
Metro spokesperson Bongani Fuzile later announced the system had been restored, but subsequently confirmed the issue had resurfaced.
“Further to our previous communication, we regret to inform you that the prepayment system is once again experiencing technical difficulties.
“Please be assured that the matter is receiving the highest priority attention.
“Our technical teams are actively working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
“At this stage, however, we are unfortunately unable to provide a confirmed estimated time of resolution.
“Alternative solutions and contingency measures are being explored for various possible scenarios.”
Fuzile said the metro’s immediate priority was to restore electricity purchasing capability and assist affected residents.
“We understand the frustration and inconvenience this may cause and sincerely appreciate your continued patience and understanding while we work to restore full service.”
The metro convened an urgent emergency meeting over the weekend involving relevant officials and the service provider “to assess the full extent of the situation and to determine the immediate way forward”.
At about 10am on Monday, Fuzile said: “BCM wishes to inform residents that while the system has been successfully restored, intermittent challenges are currently being experienced with certain electricity purchasing channels.
“Some banking apps are experiencing difficulties at this stage, though some transactions are going through successfully.
“We are working very closely with Utilities World and we can confirm no customer or municipal data has been compromised.
“This is a nationwide issue that is being resolved and the integrity and protection of the data have remained intact.”
Later, he said the system had been fully restored and the city would continue monitoring to ensure uninterrupted service.
Despite these assurances, some residents said they had endured a difficult weekend and were still battling.
BCM resident Noxolo Yekela said she had been unable to buy electricity since Friday evening.
She attempted to buy units for her elderly neighbour using a phone app but was unsuccessful.
She then tried a petrol station and a supermarket, also without success.
On Monday morning, she posted on social media that though the metro had announced the issue was resolved, residents in her part of Mdantsane were still unable to buy electricity.
Several other residents reported similar problems by midday.
Other municipalities confirmed experiencing similar disruptions.
The Amahlathi municipality issued a notice on Sunday through municipal manager Dr Zamuxolo Shasha informing consumers of electricity sales challenges.
He said the matter was receiving priority attention and technicians were working to resolve it as quickly as possible.
Shasha said the disruption had caused frustration and inconvenience to consumers.
By about 5pm on Monday, the municipality’s director of engineering, Nonkqubela Dlova, said some areas were still affected.
In the Alfred Nzo district, municipal spokesperson Luncedo Walaza confirmed that electricity vending sites in eMaxesibeni had not been functional over the weekend.
“We initially suspected this was caused by network problems, but were later informed it was as a result of challenges faced by our service provider.”
Ndlambe municipal spokesperson Thokozani Mtiki confirmed that electricity sales glitches had also affected that municipality, but did not respond to further questions.
It’s no longer a case of if you are going to face an attack, it’s when. What matters is preparedness
— Lyle Johannes, IT professional
IT professional Lyle Johannes said incidents of this nature were increasingly common.
“Cyber attacks of this nature against public infrastructure are a global reality.
“It’s no longer a case of if you are going to face an attack, it’s when. What matters is preparedness.
“Just like fire drills prepare us for physical emergencies, cyber breach simulations prepare organisations for cyber emergencies,” he said.
Johannes said there was a high likelihood that the incident was a ransomware attempt aimed at locking data and disabling systems until payment was made.
Daily Dispatch
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