ICT, cyber-security and compliance perspectives for South African business.
Practical thinking from our team on the technical and regulatory decisions that keep organisations productive, protected and compliant.
ACORN INTELLIGENCE
The latest developments in Cybersecurity, AI, Connectivity & Digital Risk.
Critical FortiMail Zero-Day Flaw Exploited in Attacks Allows Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Writes
A CVSS 9.8 flaw (CVE-2026-104286) in FortiMail 7.2.0 to 8.0.1 is being actively exploited to write files without authentication. CISA has added it to its KEV catalogue — patch now, or disable IBE and lock down management access in the interim.
Read more →New NetScaler Zero-Day Exploited in Targeted Attacks Can Knock SAML Deployments Offline
Citrix has patched CVE-2026-88779, a memory overflow in NetScaler ADC and Gateway already used in targeted attacks to take SAML-configured appliances offline. Organisations using NetScaler for single sign-on should upgrade to the fixed builds promptly.
Read more →AI companies stop short of guaranteeing agents will always obey safeguards
Testifying before New York City Council, OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google declined to promise that their AI agents will always stay within safety guardrails. A clear signal for businesses deploying agents: keep human oversight and access controls in place.
Read more →Norway fines Xandr NOK 92m over Grindr data after nearly seven years
Norway’s data protection authority fined Microsoft’s ad exchange Xandr for receiving and passing on sensitive Grindr user data without valid consent. The ruling stresses that joint controllers can’t hand off accountability for checking the lawful basis — a principle that mirrors POPIA.
Read more →ICASA Withdraws Notices on OTT Services and Telecommunications Affordability Inquiries
ICASA has pulled its notices for the telecoms affordability and over-the-top services inquiries on procedural grounds and will republish them, the affordability one with a draft questionnaire. Stakeholders who already commented will be able to resubmit.
Read more →A LinkedIn message is bringing a Starlink competitor to South Africa
Herotel has signed on to distribute Amazon Leo satellite broadband in South Africa from 2027 under its Evry brand, aimed at homes and small businesses beyond fibre’s reach. Herotel will handle the local licensing.
Read more →POPIA Cybersecurity Requirements, Explained
What section 19 of POPIA actually expects of your IT: the security safeguards, what your operator contracts must say, when a breach must be reported, and a practical checklist you can work through.
Ransomware Protection Guide for South African Businesses
How ransomware attacks usually get in, the ten controls that stop most of them, and the steps to take in the first hours if your business is hit.
Data Breach Response in South Africa, Step by Step
Contain the attack, preserve the evidence, meet your POPIA section 22 notification duties and recover safely: a plain-language playbook for the worst day.
SIEM vs SOC: Which Does Your Business Need?
A SIEM collects and correlates security events; a SOC is the team that acts on them. We explain the difference, what each costs, and which one fits your size.
Somerset West, Western Cape, South Africa — serving clients nationally.