South Africa’s national statistics agency, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), confirms that one of its systems was breached in a cyberattack believed to be linked to a cybercrime group known as XP95, reports The Witness.

The breach reportedly involves 453 362 files totalling about 154GB of data taken from a Stats SA server.

The hackers have demanded a $100 000 (about R1.7 million) ransom to prevent the release of the stolen information.

Stats SA says the compromised system was an internal human resources (HR) platform used by job seekers to submit online applications, and not a broader statistical database.

Semakaleng Thulare, the agency’s acting deputy director-general for statistical support and informatics, says the organisation was aware of the breach and was responding as part of a wider government cybersecurity process.

“The system that was breached is exclusively the HR system available for job seekers to apply online.”

“The national statistics office is part of a wider government response to matters dealing with cybersecurity breaches.”

Stats SA says it would notify the Information Regulator and follow the required processes under South Africa’s data protection laws.

The cyberattack has been linked to XP95, a relatively new cyber-extortion group that surfaced this month.

The group previously claimed responsibility for breaching the Gauteng Provincial Government, where it allegedly accessed 3.8 terabytes of data across more than 3.6m files, which were later offered for sale online for $25 000 (about R429 000).

According to MyBroadband, XP95 has set April 20, 2026, as the deadline for the ransom payment. The group claims it will publish the stolen Stats SA data online if the demand is not met.

The name XP95 appears to reference older Microsoft operating systems, combining Windows XP and Windows 95, with the group’s website interface designed to resemble legacy Windows software.

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