The South African Post Office (SAPO) has identified 87 employees who contravened the Cyber Crimes Actand policy.
This information came to light in a Parliamentary reply to DA MP Tsholofelo Bodlani, who questioned whether charges were brought against individuals implicated in the issuing of fraudulent vehicle licences.
Bodlani asked the minister of communications and digital technologies, who confirmed charges have been brought against the implicated parties.
In the response, the minister says SAPO informed him that out of the 87 identified employees, three resigned prior to their suspension.
A total of 84 employees were suspended, of which 15 disciplinary hearings have been concluded and following a guilty conviction, these employees were dismissed.
Furthermore, 69 employees are currently on suspension and await conclusion of the disciplinary processes, says SAPO in the written reply.
“Twenty-four criminal cases have been registered with the South African Police Services for fraud and contravention of section seven of the Cyber Crimes Act that speaks to the unlawful acquisition, possession, provision, receipt or use of a password, access code or similar data or device.
“Internal disciplinary proceedings have also been instituted for contravention of the Cyber Crimes Act and not protecting usernames and passwords, as well as not following policies as required by the Road Traffic Management Corporation.”
South Africa’s Cyber Crimes Act was signed into law on 1 December 2021, proclaiming that certain sections will commence.
The legislation is SA’s policy that creates offences which have a bearing on cyber crime. These relate to unlawful access to a computer system or computer data storage medium, as well as unlawful interception of data and/or processing of unlawfully intercepted data.
It also aims to bring the country’s cyber security legislation in line with global best practices.