Security Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Security Magazine logo
  • NEWS
    • Security Newswire
    • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
    • Leadership Management
    • Enterprise Services
    • Security Education & Training
    • Logical Security
    • Security & Business Resilience
    • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
    • Access Management
    • Fire & Life Safety
    • Identity Management
    • Physical Security
    • Video Surveillance
    • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
    • Cybersecurity News
    • More
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
    • Cyber Tactics
    • Leadership & Management
    • Security Talk
    • Career Intelligence
    • Leader to Leader
    • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Annual Guarding Report
    • Most Influential People in Security
    • The Security Benchmark Report
    • The Security Leadership Issue
    • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
    • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
    • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
    • Banking/Finance/Insurance
    • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
    • Education: K-12
    • Education: University
    • Government: Federal, State and Local
    • Hospitality & Casinos
    • Hospitals & Medical Centers
    • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
    • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
    • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
    • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
    • Solutions by Sector
    • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
    • Videos
      • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
      • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
    • Podcasts
    • Polls
    • Photo Galleries
  • MORE
    • Call for Entries
    • Classifieds & Job Listings
    • Continuing Education
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Store
    • White Papers
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • This Month's Content
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Security NewswireAccess Management

City Power Hit by Ransomware Attack

Johannesburg
July 29, 2019

City Power, who is responsible for providing power to Johannesburg, South Africa, said on Thursday it had been hit by a ransomware virus that had encrypted all of its databases, applications and network.

City Power said its website was down and that customers would struggle to access a number of services, such as buying electricity, uploading invoices and access to the website. It also could affect its response to some outages as the system to order and dispatch was affected. 

“City Power has been hit by a virus which has led to a black out to it's IT systems. We apologise to our customers in the @CityofJoburgZA,” City Power said in a tweet.

The city of Johannesburg said in a tweet, "Customers should not panic as none of their details were compromised."

Matt Walmsley, EMEA Director at Vectra, says, “We’re seeing ransomware becoming a far more focused tactic where cybercriminals take time to profile and target organizations who they believe will have a higher likelihood of paying a meaningful level of ransom. The broad scope of disruption to City Power’s databases and other software, impacting most of their applications and networks suggest that the ransomware was able to very quickly propagate internally without impediment. The disruption to their services, as well as consumer backlash, will further compound the pressure on City Power’s IT and security teams to rapidly restore systems to a known good condition from back-ups, or chance of paying the ransom.   

To have a fighting chance, cybersecurity teams need to be able to rapidly detect and respond to pre-cursor ransomware actions such as host and file store reconnaissance behaviors and command and control signals that are a pre-cursor to the file encryption activities. As the response time available before encryption occurs can be very short, these are tasks that increasingly need to be automated by augmenting people and processes with AI systems that can work at a scale and speed humans alone simply couldn’t match. In ransomware attacks, time is the most precious resource for security teams.” 

Terence Jackson, Chief Information Security Officer at Thycotic, says, “It appears that in similar fashion to the attacks that have been plaguing US cities and states, Johannesburg’s Power Body operations have been severely degraded by this attack. There hasn’t been any mention of the ransom request, but due to the severity of this attack, I’m sure it will be a hefty one. It will also be interesting to see if the Power Body has properly backed up its data.”

KEYWORDS: cybersecurity ransomware security breach

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
To unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security magazine's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024 award...
    Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    By: Security Staff
  • cyber brain

    The intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is a valuable cybersecurity...
    Security Enterprise Services
    By: Pam Nigro
  • artificial intelligence AI graphic

    Assessing the pros and cons of AI for cybersecurity

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has significant implications...
    Technologies & Solutions
    By: Charles Denyer
Manage My Account
  • Security eNewsletter & Other eNews Alerts
  • eMagazine Subscriptions
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Online Registration
  • Mobile App
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Security audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Security or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Crisis Response Team
    Sponsored byEverbridge

    Automate or Fall Behind – Crisis Response at the Speed of Risk

  • Perimeter security
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Why Property Security is the New Competitive Advantage

  • Duty of Care
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Integrating Technology and Physical Security to Advance Duty of Care

Popular Stories

Internal computer parts

Critical Software Vulnerabilities Rose 37% in 2024

Coding

AI Emerges as the Top Concern for Security Leaders

Half open laptop

“Luigi Was Right”: A Look at the Website Sharing Data on More Than 1,000 Executives

Person working on laptop

Governance in the Age of Citizen Developers and AI

Shopping mall

Victoria’s Secret Security Incident Shuts Down Website

2025 Security Benchmark banner

Events

June 24, 2025

Inside a Modern GSOC: How Anthropic Benchmarks Risk Detection Tools for Speed and Accuracy

For today's security teams, making informed decisions in the first moments of a crisis is critical.

July 17, 2025

Tech in the Jungle: Leveraging Surveillance, Access Control, and Technology in Unique Environments

From animal habitats to bustling crowds of visitors, a zoo is a one-of-a-kind environment for deploying modern security technologies.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

See More Products

Related Articles

  • cyberattack

    ExecuPharm, Subsidiary of US Biopharmaceutical Giant Parexel, Hit by Ransomware Attack

    See More
  • ransomware - cyber

    Georgia County's election infrastructure hit by ransomware attack

    See More
  • Security newswire default

    Atlanta Municipal Systems Hit with Ransomware Attack

    See More
×

Sign-up to receive top management & result-driven techniques in the industry.

Join over 20,000+ industry leaders who receive our premium content.

SIGN UP TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing