CIPC database was hacked
The CIPC had a security breach that exposed clients' and employees' personal information.
The CIPC, which is part of the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition, posted a notice on its website. The notice was about an incident that occurred on Thursday, 29 February 2024.
The CIPC is South Africa’s official regulatory body for registering companies, co-operatives, and intellectual property rights — including trademarks, patents, designs and copyrights.
The CIPC notice said the breach was "attempted", but since data was taken, the breach was partly successful.
The CIPC fixed a security issue. Their systems are now back up and running for processing. They isolated and stopped the problem.
The CIPC's ICT technicians were notified about a security issue. They shut down some systems to prevent damage because of the firewall and data protection in place.
Unfortunately, hackers unlawfully accessed and exposed certain personal information of our clients and CIPC employees.
The CIPC database stores information about South African businesses, their directors, and patent and trademark holders, including names and address and contact details.
The CIPC did not share more details about the exposed data. They advised clients to watch credit card transactions closely and only approve transactions they recognize and trust.
The CIPC is investigating the extent of the exposure and will communicate it as soon as possible.
The CIPC understands the need for its systems to always be available and to protect private information.
CIPC assured that it was actively working to minimise the impact on the CIPC clients and employees.
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission CIPC added, “We apologise for any inconvenience caused and assure you that every reasonable step is taken to ensure that all CIPC systems and platforms are safe and protected from unauthorised and/or unlawful access.”
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