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Johannesburg online has experienced a cyber attack in which a group of people, according to a report by Bloomberg, are demanding ransom in bitcoins for the security breach.

City Of Johannesburg’s Website Goes Offline

The news appeared on Bloomberg Friday morning and according to the report, the city has been forced to shut down its billing system as a precaution, a measure of which was put in place after a network breach was detected.

“As a result several customer facing systems – including the city’s website, e-services, billing system … have been shut down as a precautionary measure,”

This group of hackers, now identified as “Shadow Kill Hackers” according to Johannesburg online’s official twitter handle now has unauthorized access to its information system.

The City has detected a network breach in its systems ^TK pic.twitter.com/r43iiJiUya — City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) October 24, 2019

Investigation Underway

In a message following the incidence which was posted on the city’s website, the Shadow Kill Hackers, according to broadcaster eNCA, is demanding a ransom of 4 BTC and has threatened to upload all hijacked pieces of information online by the 28th of October if its demand is not met by then.

Amid hastened investigation, the city said that a 24-hour investigative measure is being taken by security experts which have also taken drastic measures to ensure restoration of security and mitigate potential impacts.

Updating the community about the progress of the investigation following the breach, the City Of Johannesburg has encouraged its community to take third-party alternatives like EFT and Checkers in order to make municipal payments as the website remains offline.