South Africa’s key port terminals remain disrupted, state-owned logistics firm Transnet confirmed of a major cyber-attack last week.

The security intrusion began on July 22 but has since continued, forcing Transnet to switch to manual systems, while working to restore normal systems. Meanwhile, operations have been severely disrupted in ports located in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Ngqura and Durban.

“It is expected that some applications may continue to run slowly over the next few days,” said a statement by Transnet.  Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cyber attacks has been increasing worldwide and in South Africa, inflicting financial losses across the manufacturing, banking and energy sectors. South Africa’s critical infrastructure has been targeted before, with minor impact. The recent incident was the first time the operational integrity of the country’s critical maritime infrastructure has suffered a severe disruption.

Meanwhile, Transnet is yet to provide details on the exact scope of the intrusion, but the impact seems widespread. Media reports indicated that the container terminals at Cape Town’s harbour stopped functioning and that port authorities were manually recording the movement of vessels in and out of the ports.