MCCI hosted a CEO Breakfast on 14 October 2025, sponsored by PPIT and First Technology. Over sixty chief executive officers and financial officers were informed of the cyber risks that businesses face. Businesses must be vigilant; forewarned is forearmed. 

According to Keith Badenhorst, 60% of medium-sized businesses in South Africa will face cyber incidents in 2024. He highlighted the growing cyber risks businesses face. It has been calculated that the average downtime costs for companies could be R1.2 million a day. Not only could your data be compromised, but your business might also lose many hours of production before your office is fully operational again. 

Cybercrime has become a commercialised service. South Africa is an easy target for these increased attacks. It is an inexpensive tool for criminals to use, and the perpetrators are rarely prosecuted. If AI is easy for you to use, it is also easy for criminals to use, and it is making these phishing attacks harder to detect. 

PPIT urged members to have robust and adaptive cybersecurity systems in place to counter evolving cyber threats. Members should rethink and review their cybersecurity processes, software, and policies to prevent a total shutdown of their operations. 

Members should review the weaknesses of their organisation’s digital infrastructure. Integrated security tools and measures should be standard operating systems. Real-time monitoring should detect suspicious behaviour. You should also have a plan to mitigate the impact of cybersecurity incidents. 

Unfortunately, cybersecurity is an added cost and administrative burden. Be prepared and have your systems in place.