Subsea Cable Operator Seacom Suffers Cyber Attack, Customers Count Losses

Subsea cable operator Seacom has been hit by a cyber attack, impacting a small number of its customers.

In a statement, the company says on Wednesday it experienced a cyber security incident, which was “contained timeously and limited” to its hosting environment.

In addition, the company reveals that its initial investigation has found that no customer data has been compromised.

“Our customers, all of whom have been personally notified, are kept abreast of recovery plans.

Business and wholesale connectivity services, which form part of our most prominent business offering, were unaffected by this incident and remain stable.”

Upon discovery, the company’s IT and security teams immediately implemented a business continuity plan and any new developments are closely monitored, it says.

“At Seacom, the security of our customers and data is of the utmost importance to us. We are currently undergoing a structured recovery process to ensure that our systems are fully restored.During this time, our customers and staff remain our top priority.”

Seacom is now is among several local firms that have suffered a cyber attack in recent months, including RSAWeb, Dis-Chem, as well as several government departments.

Seacom launched in July 2009 as a wholesale-only subsea cable operator that sold linear transmission capacity on its Seacom Subsea Cable System for the first few years of its existence.

In 2015, the company entered the direct to corporate market in SA, followed by similar launches in Kenya in 2016 and Uganda in 2019.

In March, the company started offering services live on Google’s Equiano cable following the subsea cable’s landing in Cape Town, South Africa, in August.