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South African Revenue Service (SARS) has Dismissed a Report on eFiling Profiles Hijacking
The South African Revenue Service, better known as SARS, has dismissed a report on eFiling profiles hijacking that caused a lot of worry. The report claimed that about 16,000 taxpayers had their eFiling profiles hijacked by cybercriminals, leading to lost tax refunds. But SARS and the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) said this report on eFiling profiles hijacking was not accurate. They made it clear that the details would be set straight when the official ombud’s report comes out on October 1st.
This whole issue started when the Tax Ombud asked the finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, back in August 2024 to allow an investigation into how SARS handled cases where taxpayers’ profiles were hacked. This came after many complaints from taxpayers and industry groups in June 2024. Both SARS and the OTO said they have been looking into these cases of compromised tax profiles for over a year now.
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In February this year, the ombud also asked taxpayers and tax agents to fill out a survey. This survey was meant to help understand just how big this problem is. The report about this was originally supposed to come out on July 7, but SARS’s commissioner, Edward Kieswetter, asked for more time to see the early results and give a proper response. This delayed the report until August 31 and now it will only be published on October 1.
SARS and the OTO admitted that moving tax services online has given new chances for criminals to take advantage of weak points in the system. Even simple things like logging into the tax platform or changing bank details can be ways hackers get in. They said the digital shift has made these attacks more common and tricky.
It’s not just SARS that has been targeted. In July, TechCentral reported that malware was found in the national treasury’s IT systems. This might be connected to a big Microsoft SharePoint problem affecting many worldwide. Other government bodies like the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, the State Security Agency, and the Government Employees Pension Fund have also had similar breaches in the last two years.
To fight back against these growing cyberattacks, the Democratic Alliance has suggested creating a new Cyber Commission. This group would help organize cyber defenses for both the government and private sectors so that it’s harder for hackers to succeed.
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Even though SARS dismisses a report on eFiling profiles hijacking, it says it takes the safety of taxpayers very seriously. Commissioner Kieswetter said SARS respects that the ombud’s final report will be out soon and assured that SARS is working hard to keep taxpayers’ data safe and protect the trust people have in their online services.
While it’s true that cyber threats exist, SARS and the OTO want everyone to wait for the full facts from the ombud’s report before worrying too much. They are focused on fixing any issues and making sure using the SARS eFiling system remains safe for everyone.
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