Johannesburg – The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has suffered a cyber attack that resulted in its systems failing at the weekend.
The SAWS said its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems went down on the evening of Sunday, (26 January 2025), following a “security breach by criminal elements”.
In a statement on Monday, (27 January 2025), SAWS said: “Aspects of critical services including aviation and marine have been interrupted.
“In addition, the SAWS’ email system and website, which is the hub of critical weather information, have been affected.
“However, alternative ways of disseminating important information such as the weather forecasts have been put in place. “
The SAWS said ICT service providers have been on site since the attack not only to investigate the breach but also to explore both interim and long-term ways of restoring the collapsed systems and eventually services.
“In the interim, the public is advised to rely on the SAWS’ social media platforms for weather information,” the statement said.
“The SAWS is in the process of reporting the criminal act to relevant authorities.
“The attack was the second in the space of two days after the initial attempt on the evening of Saturday, 25 January 2025 failed.”
