Anonymous ‘hacks’ Armscor website

UPDATE: Armscor has responded for comment saying the following in a statement:

"Armscor, the acquisition agency for the department of defence is aware of the data breach of its website. A team of cyber experts has been convened to conduct a forensic analysis to determine the full extent of this incident. This is to ensure that tighter measures and interventions are in place to prevent similar attempts from recurring. While the investigation is being undertaken, Armscor can confirm at this stage that information accessed does not contain sensitive and classified content."

Lulu Mzili, the general manager for marketing and business development, also said that Armscor is "aware of the increase in cyber threats, globally; hence IT infrastructure renewal is one of Armscor’s trategic focus areas.” 

Johannesburg - Hacktivists claiming to be linked to Anonymous have breached the website of South African government owned arms supplierArmscor.

The hacktivists, working under the banner of ‘Operation Africa’, told website HackRead.comthat they breached Armscor’s settlement and invoicing system.

Armscor is the officially appointed acquisition organisation for the South African department of defence.

The hacktivists allegedly used a “simple SQL injection” to breach this data and leak 63MB in HTML files on the dark web - a part of the internet that is not made public.

The files are said to include ordering and payment details for companies ranging from Airbus, Thales Group, Rolls Royce and Denel.

The Anonymous hacker also told HackRead.com that the hacktivists have access to 19 938 supplier IDs, names and their passwords.

These passwords allow anyone to log in to the Armscor system as supplier or manager.

Meanwhile, Armscor told Fin24 that it is still investigating the alleged hack and that it will comment further on the matter later on Tuesday.

"I don't have any comments currently because we are still verifying the situation,” Lulu Mzili, general manager for marketing and business development at Armscor told Fin24.

"So, I don't have any comment for now,” Mzili told Fin24.

Armscor has come under the spotlight recently for issues such as a controversial tender for the lease of an intercontinental VIP Aircraft for government.

Earlier this year, Anonymous hacktivists under the Operation Africa or ‘#OpAfrica’ banner also announced their plan to target ‘corrupt’ African governments.

The group also said that “Operation Green Rights, run by Anonymous SA, has been tackling many corporations that push GMOs (genetically modified organisms), wholesale processed foods and exploit Africa as well as her people and resources.”

Meanwhile, a seemingly separate group of hacktivists dubbed Anonymous Africa also targeted websites belonging to the SABC and the controversial Gupta family last month.

But in a tweet last week, Anonymous Africa distanced itself from the #OpAfrica hackers.

“We are not involved with #OpAfrica and their anti-GMO hysteria. Our targets are corrupt governments and corrupt corps, not science,” said Anonymous Africa.