Malawi's government is not issuing passports, President Lazarus Chakwera said, claiming it is because of a cyberattack. But some observers question whether such an attack occurred.
Chakwera told parliament on Wednesday that a cyberattack had compromised the country’s security and that measures were in place to identify and apprehend the attackers. He said the attackers were demanding millions in ransom but his administration will not pay it.
He said the hackers have prevented the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services system from printing passports for the past three weeks.
However, the immigration department stopped printing passports weeks ago, after it announced in January it was grappling with technical glitches.
The situation has left hundreds of passport applicants stranded. Rights groups have vowed to hold mass demonstrations if the glitch isn’t resolved within days.
Then on Wednesday, Chakwera told parliament the suspension was caused by what he called digital mercenaries who had hacked the system responsible for printing passports.
“This is a serious national security breach," he said, "and although Malawi is not the first in the modern world to be the target of and suffer this kind of cyberattack, we have taken very decisive steps to regain control of the situation.”
Chakwera, who has been president since June 2020, said on Wednesday that he has given the immigration department three weeks to provide a temporary solution and resume the printing of passports. At the same event, he said he had told the hackers never to expect ransom from the Malawi government.
“As long as I am the president, the government will never pay the ransom money you have demanded after hacking the system," he said, "because we are not in the business ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
