The South Africa Department of Defence has denied that its network was hacked, adding that all state secrets are safe.
The department gave this assurance on Saturday after it picked up that there was an attempt to gain access to the network.
The department is home to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) which is engaged in several peacekeeping missions in African countries like South Sudan and DR Congo.
It is also home to the Defence Intelligence Services which is tasked with detecting threats to the country.
“Preliminary investigations have been conducted by the department in this regard.
"It can be confirmed the system of the Department of Defence has not been hacked.
“This is the work of criminal syndicates within cyberspace aided through information leaked from the Department.
The department added that the system is secured and new measures have been put in place to ensure that state information is secured.
“The Department of Defence has policies in place that prohibit unauthorized access and sharing of classified information.
“The investigation continues and perpetrators will be brought to book.
“The Department assures South Africans that our systems are secured and measures have been put in place to ensure that the state information is not compromised.
The department’s spokesperson, Siphiwe Dlamini, said after the illegal attempt was thwarted an investigation was started to determine who was behind the attempt.
“We have already have pointers,” Dlamini told IOL.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
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