By connecting the dots of the failed insurrection, it is becoming increasingly clear that the crippling cyberattack on Transnet's IT infrastructure was an act of sabotage potentially carried out by the perpetrators of the insurrection.
That’s the view of Ghaleb Cachalia,DAshadow minister of public enterprises.
“The cyberattack is consistent with the insurrection's modus operandi which targeted transport and logistics infrastructure.
“As part of their plan to bring the country to its knees, the insurrectionists first targeted Durban's major transport artery, the N3. Their intention was clearly meant to disrupt supply chains, cause food shortages, and whip up public anger.”
Then, he said, they turned their attention to the business sector. “By sponsoring the industrial-scale rioting and looting in the two provinces, they forced Transnet to declare a force majeure on the Natcor rail line that connects Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.”
The 688km Natcor rail line links mines and farms in the northern regions of the country to the Durban and Richards Bay ports, where the goods are packed into shipping containers bound for lucrative markets in Asia, Europe and the United States.
“It's clear that after failing to achieve their objectives through these two acts of sabotage, the next logical step would be to cripple the Transnet port system,” said Cachalia.
“Law enforcement agencies and prosecuting authorities should not waste their time looking for cyber terrorists outside our borders. They are in the country and they may have been the architects of the failed insurrection.”
He believes that attacking the country’s major economic infrastructure is an act of terrorism and the leaders of the insurrection must be tried under the relevant terrorism laws.
“The insurrectionists obviously took advantage of the clueless security cluster to launch what is easily the most daring attack on the country since the dawn of democracy.
“What remains unknown is whether the intelligence report that Minister of State Security, Ayanda Dlodlo, claims to have shared with Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, picked up on this deliberate act to sabotage Transnet.”
