SA’s Information Regulator’s portal is down.
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South Africa’s Information Regulator has asked companies not to submit documents via its website’s portal due to technical glitches and security lapses.
“We advise … public and private bodies not to use the portal until such time the technical challenges are resolved,” it said.
The regulator monitors compliance with SA’s privacy and access to information laws.
In early May, it asked private and public companies to submit annual reports on how often they received and processed access to information requests. The deadline to file reports was initially set down for 30 June.
But technical glitches and the expiry of the portal’s SSL certificate means this date will now be extended.
An SSL certificate authenticates the identity of a website and shows that there is an encrypted connection between a browser and a web server.
Users trying to access the regulator’s portal to submit reports on Thursday were met with a message saying, “your connection is not private”.
“There will be an extension and the communique will be plastered on our website and social media platforms,” said spokesperson Nomzamo Zondi.
Zondi said the portal is under maintenance from technical glitches due to the high influx of users logging in simultaneously.
“Furthermore, we [are] resolving the issue of securing the site”, she added.
“Once the site is up and running, we urge them to not wait till the last days [of] the deadline to make their submission.”
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