DDoS attacks expose South Africa’s cyber response gap

A wave of DDoS attacks disrupted over half a dozen South African hosting providers and internet specialists, affecting tens of thousands of businesses. While South Africa has legislative tools like the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020, legal experts argue the country lacks practical capacity to respond at a national scale. There is no dedicated cyber division in SAPS, the Cybersecurity Hub's website is inactive, and multiple overlapping regulatory bodies create fragmented responses. Advocate Samantha Moloi argues what is needed is not more legislation but trained cyber investigators, real-time threat intelligence, and a centralized national incident command structure similar to the UK's NCSC or Australia's ACSC.