By Garth Calitz
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has finally got its aviation website back up and running, four weeks after it got hit by a cyber attack. A SAWS spokesperson mentioned they've regained access to some key services, like international weather charts, wind charts, flight documents for both domestic and international flights, research stuff and the all-important radar images.
Oupa Segalwe mentioned that getting the aviation website back up and running is a key move in getting the service fully operational again. "The rest of the products such as domestic significant weather charts, atmospheric pressure charts, and airman's reports are undergoing functionality tests and will be available within the shortest possible time," Segalwe added. "In the meantime, the weather service aviation weather centre at OR Tambo International Airport continues to rely on alternative means to disseminate regular aeronautical weather information and updates to the aviation community."
The SAWS website, used by folks in aviation, agriculture, and marine services, went down on Sunday, January 26th, the outage was originally denied by the service but later, the Weather Service confirmed it got hit by a ransomware attack.
Saws CEO Ishaam Abader mentioned that they got a "generic ransom note," supposedly from the Russian-linked cybercrime group RansomHub, but they hadn't asked for a specific amount. Typically, these cyber crooks hold onto the systems they've "borrowed" like a dog with a bone, refusing to let go until they get a hefty ransom. As for us, the public, we'll likely be left in the dark about what really went down.
When their website was offline, SAWS turned to their social media, like their X account, to distribute weather forecasts and aviation info. They assured everyone that their high-performance computers were still up and running, crunching weather predictions as normal.
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