“He Must Be Protected”: Stellenbosch University Student Finds Gauteng E-Panic Button Security Flaw

• A Stellenbosch University computer science student discovered that the Gauteng e-Panic Button app left a database completely open to the public
• The unsecured database allegedly contained names, GPS locations, crime reports, ID numbers and medical aid details of app users
• South Africans reacted with shock online, with many calling for the student to be hired by the government

A computer science student has sent shockwaves through South Africa after uncovering a serious security vulnerability in the Gauteng government's e-Panic Button app. Joel Cedras, studying at Stellenbosch University, discovered that a database linked to the app was sitting completely open on the internet, with no authentication required to access it.

Cedras told SABC News's Late Edition that the discovery came during an ordinary afternoon when he decided to examine the app's code. A static analysis revealed that the app's database was accessible to anyone with the right technical skills. What he found inside was alarming.

Read also

Julius Malema rejects calls to scrap IDAC, South Africans divived by EFF leader's reasoning

The database allegedly held the full names of people who had reported crimes, the contents of those reports, GPS coordinates, movement history including speed and direction, contact details, and in some cases ID numbers, medical aid information and licence plate data. Location data dating back to the app's launch in 2024 was also present.

Dedras and his team analysed a sample of around 100 users and 100 crime reports, which included reports of domestic violence, hijackings, house break-ins and robberies. Photos attached to those crime reports were also accessible and downloadable.

After Cedras contacted the app's developer, Evolve Value Added Services, and the tender winner, the database was patched within 24 hours. However, Cedras noted that it remains unknown whether anyone else accessed or downloaded the data before the fix. He pointed out that Gauteng government systems have been breached before, making that a real concern.

The SABC interview clip, shared on TikTok by @thandiwenkambulei, sparked widespread outrage and disbelief. Many South Africans were stunned that an app designed to protect vulnerable people had left their personal data so exposed. Watch the full SABC News interview with Joel Cedras here:

Viewers drag government's panic button

Read also

Man names 3 degrees with the best job prospects in South Africa

South Africans flooded the comments section with strong reactions:

@Mbuzi wrote:

"They probably designed the system using ChatGPT 😭"

@Mxolisi.Ngcobo pointed out:

"R269 million was spent on that app. This year they got R32 million to 'Update' the app."

@Thandiwe Nkambule II, the creator, reacted:

"All this exposed by a student yhoooo 😳😧"

@TT commented:

"Nice way to get hired to actually rectify the problem."

@Hue suggested:

"Let's just hire this student to be the head of IT of South Africa! Once!"

@vane.sse simply said:

"He must be protected."

@👑 added:

"Give him his degree and a position in national intelligence 😭"

Other Briefly News stories about universities

• A lecturer at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) issued a strict warning to his class after discovering widespread unreferenced internet copying and AI usage on a test.
• Researchers at Wits University, collaborating with the University of Bordeaux, demonstrated that data encoded in light patterns can endure atmospheric turbulence without signal distortion
• Construction began on Akademia's massive new 220-hectare campus in Pretoria East, representing a R3.2 billion private investment in South African higher education.

Source: Briefly News