SA operator Cell C hit by 'cybersecurity incident'

South African mobile operator Cell C has been hit by a "cybersecurity incident" which may have exposed the data of "a limited number of individuals".

Cell C disclosed the breach to its customers in a letter on January 8, 2025, signed by Cell C's information officer, Themba Phiri.

"It is regrettable that we must inform you of a recent cybersecurity incident which we have reported to the Information Regulator. Upon discovery, immediate steps were taken to secure our systems, contain the incident, and conduct a thorough investigation to determine its scope and impact," Cell C said in the letter.

"Initial findings from our ongoing investigation suggest that data related to a limited number of individuals may have been accessed by an unauthorised party," the telco added.

The operator went on to say that cybercrime is becoming increasingly prevalent both locally and globally and the company "remains committed to continuously strengthening our cybersecurity measures and improving our IT environment to mitigate these risks".

Cell C is continuing with its investigation into the breach and said it would provide customers with updates and developments as they become available.

It also encouraged customers to stay vigilant and take steps to protect their personal information, including updating their passwords.

Related:Cell C plans to claw back market share in South Africa

Cell C is investigating a cybersecurity incident which might have exposed the data of some of its customers. (Source: Paula Gilbert)

A data breach is bad news for the operator that has been working to claw back market share in South Africa and improve customer perceptions of the brand's network quality.

Cell C used to be South Africa's third-biggest operator, and its subscriber base was up to around 21 million users at the end of 2015, according to statistics from market research company Omdia, a sister company of Connecting Africa.

However, it has been slowly declining since then and former fourth-placed operator Telkom SA outpaced it to take over third place in 2020.

At the end of May 2024, Cell C's total subscriber base was down to just 7.7 million, compared to Vodacom's around 57 million users, MTN's 37 million and Telkom's 21 million subscribers.

Cell C has also faced revenue declines over the past few years and has been working to turn things around financially.