Johannesburg – The Justice Department on Friday said it had improved the security of its online Guardian’s Fund System after it was discovered that millions of rand had been stolen.
The department said it discovered, early in April this year, an illegal breach on the GFS, and found that more than R17 million had been lost from the Guardian’s Fund.
The department said its internal forensic investigation immediately set out to investigate the problem and discovered a potential violation of GFS security protocol.
Fearing hackers had attacked the system, the department said after discovering the incident, it took swift action and suspended payments out of caution and to establish the magnitude of the problem.
However, at this stage, the department said its preliminary investigations have revealed that no hacking had taken place.
“The preliminary investigation found that the GFS was breached internally by certain officials working in the GFS,” the department said.
“We are pleased to inform the public that the department has obtained a preservation order for some of the stolen funds, and thanks to the hard work of law enforcement agencies, progress is being made on all possible leads.
“With the help of law enforcement agencies, we pledge to hold accountable all individuals involved in activities that seek to undermine the GFS.”
The errant officials have since been placed on precautionary suspension pending finalisation of the investigations.
The Guardian’s Fund is a reserved fund, created to preserve money paid to the Master on behalf of heirs of deceased persons.
Heirs include surviving minors, unborn children, absent heirs, and persons legally not capable of taking care of themselves.
The fund’s main purpose is to protect the interests of minors and to help manage their funds in a way that improves their quality of life.
The fund is duly administered by the Justice Department using its online GFS, which is linked to the bank system – of an appointed service provider – to enable swift and secure payments to the beneficiaries (heirs).
The Director General and other senior management of the department met with the senior management of ABSA – the appointed GFS’s banking service provider – to discuss, investigate and resolve the deeply concerning incident and its challenges to the Guardian’s Fund.
“The bank is collaborating with the department to develop controls for further strengthening the protection of the GFS and safeguarding it,” the department said.
“Certain measures to improve the security of the payment system have been agreed upon and are being implemented with immediate effect.”
The department said it has also explored alternative ways to protect the payment system.
“As a result, the department began making beneficiary payments last week in the Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, and Cape Town Offices of Master,” a communique said.
“The Pietermaritzburg and Makhanda Offices will soon start making payments as well.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused to the beneficiaries, guardians, and general members of the public and we are doing everything to ensure that they are paid without further delays.”
The department said its officials were working around the clock to process all outstanding payments.
The department also revealed that it was in the process of obtaining the services of a professional service provider to conduct comprehensive due diligence and review the entire system.
