TransUnion South Africa released a statement confirming that a criminal third party obtained access to a TransUnion South Africa server through misuse of an authorised client’s credentials.
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“We have received an extortion demand and it will not be paid,” says the statement.
According to My Broadband, the extortion demand is R224 million and the leak could affect customers of Absa, FNB and Standard Bank.
“Immediately upon discovery of the incident, TransUnion South Africa suspended the client’s access, engaged cybersecurity and forensic experts, and launched an investigation. As a precautionary measure, TransUnion South Africa took certain elements of our services offline. These services have resumed. We believe the incident impacted an isolated server holding limited data from our South African business. We are working with law enforcement and regulators.
“We are engaging clients in South Africa about this incident. As our investigation progresses, we will notify and assist individuals whose personal data may have been affected. We will be making identity protection products available to impacted consumers free of charge.
“The security and protection of the information we hold is TransUnion’s top priority”, said Lee Naik, CEO TransUnion South Africa. “We understand that situations like this can be unsettling and TransUnion South Africa remains committed to assisting anyone whose information may have been affected.”
