South Africa’s Lengau Supercomputer Hit by Crypto-Mining Attack Amid Planned $18.2M Upgrade
Hackers deployed crypto-mining malware on South Africa's Lengau supercomputer. The government has confirmed an $18.2M replacement system.
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What To Know:
- Between May and June 2026, attackers breached South Africa’s Lengau supercomputer and deployed crypto-mining malware.
- The malware mined Monero (XMR), chosen for its privacy and difficulty to trace.
- The breach exploited vulnerabilities in the decade-old system; only certain components were affected, not the wider national network.
- The government has confirmed an $18.2M (ZAR 292M) budget for the 2026/27 year to fund a replacement supercomputer.
Hackers breached South Africa’s Lengau supercomputer between May and June 2026. The country’s Department of Science, Technology and Innovation confirmed the breach and claims hackers used the supercomputer to mine cryptocurrency.
Lengau is operated by the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC), part of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Lengau is a petascale system that has supported climate modelling, drug discovery, and AI research across Africa since 2016.
Attackers gained unauthorised access to the system and deployed cryptocurrency-mining malware, according to Minister Blade Nzimande, who briefed Parliament on the breach last week.
Malware Targets Monero (XMR)
The malware mined Monero (XMR), a privacy-focused cryptocurrency built to resist transaction tracing. That makes it a common choice for attackers monetising stolen computing power, since the mined coins are difficult to trace back to a wallet or individual.
Nzimande said the breach stemmed from vulnerabilities in Lengau’s ageing infrastructure. “Due to the legacy environment, some components are ageing, technically constrained or no longer fully supported by original vendors,” he told lawmakers.
He added that only specific components of the system were compromised, and that South Africa’s wider national cyberinfrastructure network was not affected.
Funding a Replacement
Meanwhile, the government has allocated ZAR 292 million (about $18.2 million) for the 2026/27 financial year to fund a new supercomputer through the National Integrated Cyberinfrastructure System (NICIS).
The budget covers more than hardware; it also funds human resources, governance, operations, and research capacity tied to the upgrade. It’s not yet clear how much of that total will go specifically toward acquiring the new system.
Lengau will be replaced by a new 4 petaflop high-performance computing system, which is approximately 300% more powerful. The NCIS and CSIR will begin transitioning from Lengau to a new system, with the first phase of the transition expected to be complete by November 2026.
The complete upgrade is projected to end by March 2027. The CSIR says it will continue monitoring Lengau to keep it secure going forward.
