Wits University confirms cyber attack on Oracle E-Business system
The University of the Witwatersrand is grappling with a cyber attack on its Oracle E-Business system, impacting operations across multiple countries.
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The University of the Witwatersrand has confirmed its Oracle E-Business system has been hit by a cyber attack.
In a short statement, Wits said the attack has compromised its system in multiple countries.
"This is a 'zero-day' event - a cyberattack which exploits a software vulnerability that is unknown to the software vendor and has no patch. It means that the software developer has zero days to solve the problem before the attack occurs.
"The University uses this system for certain functions and operations continue as normal," Wits said in a short statement on Friday.
The university said its Chief Information Officer is working with ICT, Oracle and cybersecurity experts to determine which data has been compromised.
"ICT has already implemented all the latest critical patch updates released by Oracle," it said.
Wits has notified the Information Regulator of this incident, and confirmed that it is doing all that it can to assess the potential risk to members of its community.
IOL recently reported that in 2024, analysts estimate that the average cost of recovering from a data breach in South Africa skyrocketed to R53-million, a rise of approximately R4-million from the previous year.
seanne.rall@iol.co.za
IOL