JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Last Thursday, South Africa power utility City Power reported that its system was hijacked by a Ransomware virus leaving customers unable to access the utility's website or purchase prepaid electricity units from vendors.

The cyberattack resulted in a blackout to its internet technology system, leaving Johannesburg residents unable to purchase electricity, reports ESI-Africa.

The power utility's spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the virus had attacked its database and other software and affected most of the utility's applications and networks. The virus also prevented those who had already bought their prepaid electricity from uploading the units to their meter boxes.

The spokesman said that more than a quarter of a million people might have been affected.

The City of Johannesburg, which owns the electricity company, said that most of its IT systems had now been restored.

Source: BBC, ESI-Africa