The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has informed its clients and employees that hackers may have obtained their personal information.
At least three million entities and individuals are registered with the CIPC, which maintains a database of the ownership information pertaining to companies and co-operatives and a register of intellectual property rights, such as trademarks, patents, and designs.
The CIPC’s brief statement, released on 29 February, does not state when the data breach occurred or when it was discovered.
The statement said the CIPC’s technicians were alerted to a possible security compromise and as a result, certain CIPC systems were shut down immediately to mitigate any possible damage. The compromise was isolated and curtailed and the relevant systems are back up and available for processing.
“Unfortunately, certain personal information of our clients and CIPC employees was unlawfully accessed and exposed. CIPC clients are urged to be vigilant in the monitoring of credit card transactions and only approve/authorise known and valid transaction requests,” the statement said.
Clients should also be vigilant when receiving emails that purport to come from the CIPC.
The extent of the exposure is being investigated and will be communicated as soon as possible.
“The CIPC recognises the importance of the consistent availability of our systems and the safeguarding of information that is not in the public domain and is working actively to minimise the impact on the CIPC clients and employees.
“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,” the statement said.
