At That Point
  • home
  • our story
  • our services
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News

City of Johannesburg ransomware attack a wake-up call for boards, says IoDSA

28/10/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
The ransomware attack suffered by the City of Johannesburg today sounds a clarion call for boards to revisit their technology governance strategies and take a more holistic view of technology and the risk it poses, says Parmi Natesan, CEO of the Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA).

“Cyber-attacks like this one represent a huge and present risk for all organisations in both the public and private sectors—the City is effectively unable to do business until its systems are restored, and vital corporate and customer data could be lost or compromised,” she says.

According to Marlon Moodley, IT Governance facilitator for the IoDSA, because technology now provides the underlying platform for most business in both the public and private sectors, directors’ responsibility in terms of technology governance is more important than ever before. Globally, directors of both public and private entities are not taking adequate steps to acquire broader skills to understand crucial developments in the fast-moving technology space.

In particular, he strongly argues that directors must beware of taking too narrow a view. Technology pervades every facet of business, and thus its governance must take a similarly holistic view. Financial governance and risk assessment looks at the whole organisation, and the same approach should be followed when it comes to technology. For example, servers are not the only vulnerability—cybercriminals can penetrate corporate IT systems via the multitude of devices in use inside and outside the working environment, as well as through exploiting vulnerabilities in human behaviour. A compromised device is a backdoor into the corporate environment. And a compromised IT environment puts every facet of the organisation at risk.  

Data represents a key collateral risk. Hackers often post or sell corporate data on the Dark Web, so technology and data governance overlap to a great degree, he notes. South Africa, along with a growing number of countries, has tough data-privacy laws with stiff penalties.

“Because of technology’s pervasiveness, directors should make sure they acquire a broader understanding of technology and the trends driving it. But they should also be calling in experts to advise them. The key here, though, is to ensure that both they and the experts take a holistic view that encompasses the entire technology environment and its operational impact, including on sensitive data,” he says.

“Directors also need to ensure that adequate business continuity arrangements are in place. If the corporate IT systems are not usable, there should be an alternate data centre with a clean, reliable replication of the IT environment.”

Ms Natesan concludes that boards in both the public and private sectors face similar challenges relating to technology governance, and that the tendency to take too narrow a view of technology needs to be shifted.

ENDS
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Stephné du Toit, 084 587 9933, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za
For more information on the IoDSA please visit:
Website:  www.iodsa.co.za
Twitter:  @The_IoDSA
LinkedIn:  Institute of Directors in Southern Africa Company Page  
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome to the IoDSA Newsroom.
    IN THE MEDIA

    2023
    ​

    2 March
    Financial Mail: 5572bb70-29ab-48f8-b5df-79c7bb7f27dc.pdfIN 


    Archives

    May 2025
    February 2025
    November 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All
    702 Sun International CEO SleepOut™
    ABSA
    Accountability
    ACGN
    Advocate Fay Mukaddam
    Africa
    African Governance Showcase
    AGM
    Alex Granger
    Angela Cherrington
    Angela Oosthuizen
    Ansie Ramahlo
    Ansie Ramalho
    Audit Committees
    Auditor General
    Board
    Board Meeting
    Boards
    Budget
    Business
    CD(SA)
    Central Energy Fund
    CEO
    CEO Tenure
    Certified Director
    Chairman
    Chartered Director
    CIPC
    City Of Johannesburg
    Clover
    Companies Act
    COO
    Corporate Governance
    Corruption
    Cricket SA
    Delinquent Directors
    Director
    Directors
    Directors' Sentiment Index Report
    Disclosure
    Discrimination
    Dudu Myeni
    Economic Growth
    Eskom
    Eskom Board
    Ethics
    Executive Pay
    EY
    Fair Pay
    FEDSAS
    Fraud And Corruption
    Governance
    Governing Bodies
    Gupta
    Huge Group
    Institute Of Directors In South Africa
    Integrated Reporting
    IoDSA
    Johannesburg Property Company
    Karin Ireton
    King Code Of Corporate Governance
    King IV
    KingIV
    King IV Launch Conference
    Leadership
    Local Elections
    Management
    Mervyn King
    Mid-term Budget 2021
    Mini-budget 2021
    Municipalities
    Non-Executive Directors’ Fees Guide
    North West Cricket
    Parmi Natesan
    Politics
    Professionalising Directorship
    Property
    Public Sector Boards
    Ray Harraway
    Remuneration
    Remuneration Committee Forum
    Richard Foster
    SAA
    SABC
    SA Express
    SAPO
    School Governing Bodies (SGB)
    Service Delivery
    Shareholders
    Sikkie Kajee
    SME Growth
    Social Inequality
    SOEs
    South African Airlines
    South African Airways
    South African Forestry Company
    Stakeholders
    State Capture
    State-owned Enterprises
    State-owned Entities
    Succession Planning
    Sustainability
    Sustainable Development Forum
    The Ethics Institute
    The Institute Of Directors South Africa
    Transnet
    Trends
    Tsakani Maluleke
    UCT
    Vikeshni Vandayar
    Women
    Women's Day
    Zondo Commission

    RSS Feed

CONTACT US

office [at] atthatpoint [dot] co [dot] za
© COPYRIGHT 2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  • home
  • our story
  • our services
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News