Following news of a data breach and potential exposure of some personal information of up to 24 million South Africans and 793 749 businesses, according to ITWeb, business and credit information services agency Experian South Africa says it is coordinating an investigation with the help of law enforcement and relevant authorities, and that its bureau infrastructure systems and database has not been compromised.

Yesterday ITWeb reported that the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) and Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) had issued a statement verifying they had received confirmation of the incident from Experian.

Experian South Africa issued a statement and said it is continuing to investigate “an isolated incident in South Africa involving a fraudulent data inquiry.”

An excerpt from the statement reads: “Our investigations indicate that an individual in South Africa, purporting to represent a legitimate client, fraudulently requested services from Experian. The services involved the release of information which is provided in the ordinary course of business or which is publicly available.

“We can confirm that no consumer credit or consumer financial information was obtained. Our investigations do not indicate that any misappropriated data has been used for fraudulent purposes. Our investigations also show that the suspect had intended to use the data to create marketing leads to offer insurance and credit-related services.”

Experian South Africa added that is has identified the suspect and has obtained and executed an Anton Piller order which resulted in the individual’s hardware being impounded and the misappropriated data being secured and deleted.

“We are continuing the legal process in this regard, including coordination with law enforcement and relevant authorities,” the company added.

Experian Africa CEO Ferdie Pieterse said: “I would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to any affected parties. Our first priority is to help and support consumers and businesses in South Africa. As a precaution we advise anyone who may have concerns to regularly check their credit report. You can do this by visiting www.mycreditcheck.co.za where you can access your personal credit report for free, for life.”