Johannesburg victim of ransomware cyberattack

Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city, has been hit by a ransomware cyber-attack that has infected an electricity provider and consequently left some of its residents without electricity.

The infection affected City Power, a company that supplies prepaid electricity to Johannesburg residents and local businesses and has acknowledged that it was a victim of the cyber attack. The company's database, internal network, web applications and official website were encrypted by malware, disrupting its operations and leaving its customers, more than a quarter of a million, without service.

The city, which owns the power company, has reported that most of the affected systems have been repaired and put back into operation, and that they will update the information as it is provided by the supplier.