Botched Maintenance Results in SAPS IT Network Crash

The IT network of the South African Police Service (SAPS) experienced a major disruption after a botched maintenance attempt resulted in the reconfiguration of its firewall. The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) has announced that it will take action and intervene after one of its service providers caused the crash of the SAPS network.

Tlali Tlali, the head of corporate affairs at SITA, confirmed the incident that took place on January 16th at 22:00, which led to significant disruptions in various SAPS services. This included the loss of access to email, internet, intranet, VPN, and certain applications.

The consequences of this network crash for the South African Police Service are significant, as it hindered their ability to communicate and access essential resources. Investigations are currently underway to determine the cause of the incident and to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.

As a result, the police force had to rely on alternative methods for communication and information sharing, posing challenges to their day-to-day operations. The incident highlighted the importance of robust IT infrastructure and the need for efficient maintenance procedures to prevent such disruptions.