On
9 March 2024 the Electoral Commission reported that it had become aware of
candidate lists related to two political parties, the African National Congress
(ANC) and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), that had been disclosed in an unauthorised
manner and circulated on social media platforms.
Additionally,
the Electoral Commission indicated that the lists contained hallmarks of
information that suggested the information emanated from a user inside of the
organisation. For that reason, an investigation was instituted to establish the
circumstances of the unauthorised circulation. The investigation narrowed the
source of the disclosure to a workstation that had been used to generate and
store the reports.
The
workstation was secured and imaged in the presence of the staff member whose
credentials were used to generate the reports, whereafter the reports were
deleted. The responsible staff member is a South African female who was
employed by the Electoral Commission as a Local Electoral Project Officer in
the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. Disciplinary processes were
instituted against the responsible staff member, who has since been dismissed
by the Electoral Commission.
The
Electoral Commission reiterates its regret for the unauthorised disclosure of
the lists and the disclosure of personal information of candidates on those
lists. The Electoral Commission continues to cooperate with the Information
Regulator in this regard.
Please
be aware that access to personal information can create a heightened risk of
unlawful activity, including an attempt to impersonate affected data subjects
or to trick affected data subjects or other persons into disclosing further
information about themselves or their organisations. This could potentially be
used by third parties in various ways to commit fraudulent activities,
including scams, digital profile hacks, or identity theft.
Affected
data subjects are encouraged to remain vigilant against any suspected
unauthorised use of their personal information and to be cautious of any
unsolicited communications that ask for personal information or that refer you
to a web page asking for personal information. Fraudulent people seeking to
unlawfully utilise personal information often pose as officials from trusted
authorities like the South African Police Service as well as banking or other
financial institutions.
As
a precaution, affected data subjects can register for a free Protective
Registration listing with Southern Africa Fraud Prevention Service to help
protect you against the risks of compromised identity information at the
following address: https://www.safps.org.za/Home/OurServices_ApplyProtectiveRegistration).
If
you have any questions or require further assistance, please contact [email protected]
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