South Africa: Rand Water hit by a cyberattack, water supply unaffected
The country’s largest bulk water supplier confirmed on 3 September an incident affecting some of its IT systems. Treatment, quality and supply are operating normally, according to the state-owned company.
- On 3 September, Rand Water confirmed a cybersecurity incident affecting some of its IT systems.
- Water production and quality are not affected, according to the company.
- Attacker, entry point and any data theft: nothing has been made public.
Rand Water, South Africa’s largest state-owned bulk water utility, said on 3 September 2026 that it was dealing with a cybersecurity incident affecting certain IT systems. The announcement was made to holders of its listed debt securities, after press reports of a cyberattack.
According to MyBroadband, the incident affected the company’s payment systems and its geographic information system.
Water is not affected
Rand Water says its critical operations continue to run: water treatment, quality control and bulk supply. Testing remains compliant with the national drinking water standard SANS 241.
What we do not know yet
The company has not publicly identified the attacker, how they got in, or whether data was stolen. Nor has it said whether ransomware is involved. The incident adds to a series of attacks on South African organisations in recent weeks.
- Cyberattack hits South Africa's biggest water utility, TechCentral.
- Rand Water hit by cyberattack, MyBroadband.
- Rand Water says supply and quality unaffected after cybersecurity incident, Joburg ETC.
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