Big South African insurer provides update on cyberattack
AVBOB general manager for corporate affairs Adrian Bester has said the company cannot confirm whether the recent cybersecurity incident it suffered was a ransomware attack or a data breach.
The company said it had suffered a cybersecurity incident in a statement released on Monday, 8 June 2026.
In an audio clip published by Newzroom Afrika, Bester said AVBOB was still investigating the cybersecurity incident and did not want to speculate before it had answers.
“Unfortunately, we cannot confirm if this incident is a ransomware attack or a data breach, as investigations are underway to establish the exact nature of the incident,” he said.
“In terms of how many customers have been potentially affected, we are currently still performing an audit on the data to establish the full extent of the impact on our customers.”
Bester apologised to AVBOB’s customers and partners for the inconvenience caused and thanked them for their patience.
The incident resulted in outages on AVBOB’s digital systems. The company is currently using manual processes to serve clients.
In its statement on 8 June 2026, AVBOB confirmed the incident was behind disruptions to its systems, and Bester said the company was treating the matter seriously.
“The matter is being treated with the utmost seriousness, and our technical teams, together with specialist partners, are working around the clock to restore functionality,” he said.
At that time, he said AVBOB was still trying to determine whether AVBOB clients’ personal information may have been exposed.
“We can confirm that steady progress has already been made. Work continues at a rapid pace to restore functionality as quickly and safely as possible,” Bester said.
“We wish to assure our policyholders, partners, and stakeholders that we are actively managing the situation and prioritising the continuity of essential services.”
Bester warned that clients could experience delays in making payments, but added that they would not be negatively affected and that policyholders wouldn’t be prejudiced by the disruptions.
Cybercriminals attacking South Africa 24 hours a day
While some systems and branch services were unavailable, AVBOB branches nationwide were operational to assist with payments, claims, and funeral arrangements.
The company also advised clients who needed to submit new insurance claims to do so directly via email at: [email protected].
Head of the cyber and information research centre at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Jabu Mtsweni, recently told Newzroom Afrika that South African entities were constantly under attack.
“The hackers, the bad guys, their core business is to try to get into our enterprises, our companies, and our state-owned entities. That’s their core business,” Mtsweni said.
“Which means that 24 hours a day, all they are trying to do is get lucky once. They’re all ahead in how they use the information and the toolsets, and they’re far ahead of us.”
He warned that technologies such as artificial intelligence were making cyberattacks on South African companies more sophisticated.
“AI being used by the bad guys is just trying to do the exact same thing the bad guys were doing before. It’s trying to get into your business, trying to hold you up for ransom, and extract your key data,” he said.
“We know what they’re trying to do. They’re just doing it faster and with better tools. So let’s set up those different defence lines so that we can try to contain it as rapidly as possible.”
Loading ...