Panic button data breach alarms Gauteng legislature as victims' details may be exposed
A student was apparently able to log in to the system used by women at risk of gender-based violence, prompting demands for documentary proof that the breach is fixed.
A breach of Gauteng’s panic button system may have exposed the personal information of women who rely on it, and a provincial legislator is demanding documentary proof that the problem has actually been fixed.
The concern was raised in an interview broadcast by eNCA (YouTube), in which the legislator said she contacted the MEC and the head of department after learning of the breach. According to the account given on air, the department confirmed there had been a breach but said the matter had been fixed.
The legislator said verbal assurances are not enough. An urgent meeting with the department has been requested so that officials can explain exactly what happened, and she wants assurance in writing that the system is secure.
She also wants a report on the access logs, covering the period from 2024, when the app was first launched, to the present. The question she wants answered is how many people have had access to the system in those two years, and whether any of them were foreign nationals.
Her concern is that if a student was able to log in, others may have been able to as well. She raised the possibility that criminal syndicates could have been viewing the information over an extended period.
The alarm is heightened, she said, because of the wider context of violence against women in the province. Victims and perpetrators alike would have access to the exposed information, she said.
Beyond the security fix, the legislator said the department must report the breach to the Information Regulator and must inform the individuals who use the app, particularly those whose information has been compromised. She cited the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act in this regard.
The department has not yet responded publicly to the demands for access logs and written assurance. The urgent meeting between the legislature and the department is expected to establish what the department knew, when it knew it, and what steps were taken after the breach was detected.
Source: eNCA (YouTube), e-Panic button data breach causes alarm
