The
hospital operator said its patient care was not impacted and an
investigation into the incident is underway.
Southern Africa is Life Healthcare's biggest market that
includes Botswana.
The company said its hospitals and administrative offices
continue to function with some delays, after having switched to
backup systems.
"We are deeply disappointed and saddened that criminals would
attack our facilities during such a time, when we are all
working tirelessly and collectively to fight the COVID-19
pandemic," Pieter Van der Westhuizen, acting group CEO said.
Life Healthcare is the third major South African company that
has been targeted by hackers this year.
Nedbank in February warned that information of about 1.7 million
clients were potentially affected by a data breach, and the
following month chemicals and fertiliser maker Omnia Holdings
said its IT infrastructure was subject to a cyberattack.
Last year, hackers shut down the cyber network of Johannesburg
City Council, targeting computers of local government employees
in South Africa's economic hub.
Late last month, Life Healthcare reported a 2.2% jump in
first-half normalised core profit at 2.73 billion rand ($185
million).
(Reporting by Aniruddha Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.

|
|