South African Weather Service hit by cyberattack, site down

Cyberattack Affects Aviation, Marine, and ICT Services

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has confirmed a major cybersecurity breach that disrupted its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems, impacting critical services such as aviation, marine operations, and weather forecasting.

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According to an official statement, the cyberattack first occurred on the evening of Saturday, January 25, 2025, but was initially unsuccessful. However, a second, more severe attack on Sunday night led to a system outage, causing the SAWS website to go offline and affecting essential meteorological services.

“Critical services like aviation and maritime operations have seen disruptions,” SAWS stated, emphasizing the severity of the cyber breach.

Investigation Underway as ICT Experts Work on Recovery

Since the attack, SAWS ICT service providers have been working on-site to investigate the breach and develop short-term and long-term solutions to restore affected systems.

Despite the website being offline, SAWS assured the public that it is still disseminating crucial weather updates through alternative channels, including social media platforms and direct communication with key stakeholders.

“We were able to continue delivering essential weather forecasts via alternate means,” SAWS confirmed.

The incident has been reported to South African law enforcement and cybersecurity authorities, who are now conducting a full investigation into the breach.

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Public Advised to Use Alternative Channels for Weather Updates

As SAWS works to restore its services, the agency has urged the public to rely on its official social media pages for accurate weather updates and alerts.

This cybersecurity breach marks the second attempted attack on SAWS in just two days, raising concerns about the vulnerability of critical national infrastructure to cyber threats.

Authorities have not yet disclosed who is responsible for the attack or whether sensitive meteorological data was compromised.