Managing Director Samuel Dubik Mahama, has clarified that Ghana’s power distribution company ECG, lost between GH¢400 and GH¢500 million due to a ransomware attack on its systems and operations
Ransomware is a form of software that locks a victim’s sensitive data or device, demanding a ransom payment in exchange for releasing it.
Mr Dubik described the attack as highly damaging, noting that it occurred at a crucial time when the power distribution company was in the midst of operational changes, including system upgrades.
During an interview on the Point of View show on Accra-based Channel One TV, the Managing Director of ECG confirmed the Vice President’s earlier statements made in May regarding the ransomware attack on ECG’s operations and its significant effects.
“Don’t forget that, within those periods, we were going through an operational turnaround, where we were fixing our systems… That was the same year within which we had the ransomware attack thing that we managed to take care of.
“For me, what I will say to that is there’s an investigation going on, so maybe probably, the Vice President is privy to the final investigation report or has some inkling towards whatever is going on there. But I have not been furnished. There was an attack, there’s no two ways about that.
“Looking at a company that has the potential of raising about GH¢50 million to GH¢60 million in a day, if you’re not able to vend for a week, how much have you lost? How are you going to bring yourself back into the game? So yes, we did lose a lot, we had a few good companies consult for us and advise us. And we have a quantity of the amount of money that was lost ranges between GH¢400 million to GH¢500 million within that period,” the ECG Managing Director explained.
In May this year, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia revealed how certain officials within ECG undermined the government’s revenue generation efforts by introducing ransomware into the company’s critical infrastructure.
He emphasized that this attack significantly disrupted ECG’s revenue operations, hindering the efficient functioning of the power distribution system during that time.