SA's state security chief's phone cloned by hackers

South Africa's state security chief Ayanda Dlodlo, her deputy and several officials from the State Security Agency (SSA) have reportedly had their mobile phones cloned by hackers.

Dlodlo’s spokesman said in a statement Wednesday that the hacks were discovered this week and the police have commenced investigation.

According to the Reuters report, he said he cannot confirm the identity of the attackers or if any sensitive information had been compromised.

“We don’t have further information, all we know is that the phones were cloned,” the spokesman told Reuters, adding that the cloning was discovered when individuals received texts from deputy minister Zizi Kodwa’s phone that he had not sent.

The incident is the latest to raise embarrassing questions for the agency over its ability to properly protect the sensitive materials it handles in the course of its work.

It follows a robbery at SSA headquarters in Pretoria earlier in February in which money and documents were stolen.

Reuters