{"id":644182,"date":"2026-04-29T10:38:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T08:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=644182"},"modified":"2026-04-29T16:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:04:16","slug":"large-technology-wholesaler-in-south-africa-hit-by-data-breach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/security\/644182-large-technology-wholesaler-in-south-africa-hit-by-data-breach.html","title":{"rendered":"Large technology wholesaler in South Africa hit by data breach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Technology distributor Esquire notified customers on Wednesday that it had suffered a data breach affecting a portion of the SQL database powering its API data feed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is important to note that our primary database and financial systems remain fully secure,\u201d Esquire said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe information accessed was limited to online order-related data, such as company names, email addresses, and order history only.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esquire assured that no sensitive personal or financial information, such as banking details or identification details, was compromised in any way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUpon discovering the breach, we acted immediately to secure the affected API, block unauthorised access, and implement additional security measures to prevent any recurrence,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are also working closely with cybersecurity specialists to investigate the incident and further strengthen our systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In line with its obligations under Section 22 of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), Esquire said it reported the incident to the Information Regulator on Friday, 24 April 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will continue to cooperate fully regarding this matter and the remedial actions being taken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although passwords were not mentioned in the compromised data, Esquire strongly recommended that users update their passwords for its online platform as a precautionary measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esquire did not reveal who the third party was that gained access to its API feed data. It was advised that no one should engage with the attackers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou may receive communication from individuals related to this breach. Please do not engage with them, as they are attempting to exploit the situation and extort a ransom,\u201d stated Esquire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company said its cybersecurity advisors specifically recommended that no contact be made with the cyber extortion group responsible for the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe sincerely regret any concern or inconvenience this incident may cause and remain committed to protecting your information and maintaining your trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of South Africa’s oldest distributors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Asgar Mahomed and Mahomed Cassim, Esquire founders and brothers, in their warehouse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Established in 1999 in Pretoria as a small business that wholesaled technology products to South African businesses, Esquire has grown into one of the largest distributors in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is based in Samrand, Midrand, at the Esquire Digital Lifestyle Park. The facility spans 8,000 square meters and serves as its main warehousing and logistics centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esquire has regional branches in Cape Town and Durban, with each region independent in terms of sales, warehousing, and technical support to ensure immediate assistance to reseller partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has also expanded its footprint into neighbouring Southern African Development Community countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These included Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No ransomware attack<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Mahomed Cassim, Esquire CEO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Contacted for additional details, Esquire confirmed that the incident was limited to unauthorised access and did not involve ransomware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There was no encryption of systems, and operations were not disrupted,” it stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esquire also said there was currently no evidence that user passwords had been accessed or compromised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Clients are being advised to update their passwords purely as a precautionary measure and as part of best security practice,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We sincerely regret any concern this incident may have caused,” said Mahomed Cassim, chief executive officer of Esquire Technologies South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We acted swiftly to contain the issue and are fully committed to protecting our clients and strengthening our systems.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esquire’s chief technology officer, Reza Mahomed, added that their teams moved quickly to isolate the affected systems and implement additional safeguards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We remain focused on ensuring the resilience and integrity of our platform,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Technology distributor Esquire notified customers on Wednesday that it had suffered a breach affecting some of the data in one of its online systems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":644195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[26872,6032,47502,68498],"class_list":["post-644182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","tag-data-breach","tag-esquire","tag-information-regulator","tag-protection-of-personal-information-act-popia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644182"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644182"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":644318,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644182\/revisions\/644318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}