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Toggle navigation Home * * * * * * Login Support DM * Home * Home * Investigations * Scorpio * Our Burning Planet * Amabhungane * Declassified UK * News & Analysis * Business Maverick * Maverick Citizen * Sport * Newsdeck * 2021 Local Elections * Features * Opinionistas * Maverick Life * TGIFood * Covid-19 * Podcasts * Webinars * Zapiro * Newsletters * Newspaper * Distribution Outlets * E-Edition * Contact Us GO * * Shop * Support DM * * Shop * Support DM * Login × search Custom Search Sort by: Date Date Relevance DM 168 INVESTIGATION CYBERATTACKS: SOUTH AFRICA, YOU’VE BEEN HACKED (Credit: Gallo Images / Unsplash) By Caryn Dolley Follow 06 Nov 2021 Follow 0 RECENT CYBERATTACKS ON SOUTH AFRICA HAVE SHOWN HOW VULNERABLE THE COUNTRY IS TO CYBERCRIMINALS AND RANSOMWARE ASSAULTS, WHICH POSE A THREAT TO PEOPLE, THE ECONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURE. Online crooks are increasingly targeting South Africa, which now has the third-highest number of cybercrime victims in the world. This costs about R2.2-billion annually. In the first quarter of this year, South Africa was also the worst affected on the continent in terms of targeted ransomware attacks, which can affect critical infrastructure. This is according to Interpol’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report released in October. It comes as the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development recovers from a debilitating ransomware attack that unfolded in September, affecting all its electronic systems. Transnet and its division that operates SA’s biggest ports was also the target of a cyberattack earlier this year that affected crucial systems. And the National School of Government appears to have paid cybercrooks a R2-million ransom, previously, while the private hospital group Life Healthcare was targeted last year in an attack that affected admissions systems and email servers. These incidents paint a worrying picture of how vulnerable South Africa is to cybercriminals and even cyberwarfare. A possible example of cyberwarfare, showing how far-reaching and detrimental it can be to residents, is the attempted poisoning of a water plant in Florida in the US earlier this year. It was reported a hacker increased sodium hydroxide levels in the water supply that reached a town of 15,000 people. The attack was thwarted. This week malicious cyberactivities also made global headlines – and this had suspected links to South Africa. The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security added four companies – two Israeli, one Russian and one in Singapore – to its Entity List; in other words, to its trade restriction list. “NSO Group and Candiru (Israel) were added to the Entity List based on evidence that these entities developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments that used these tools to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics and embassy workers,” a statement said. “Positive Technologies (Russia) and Computer Security Initiative Consultancy Pte Ltd (Singapore) were added to the Entity List based on a determination that they traffic in cybertools used to gain unauthorised access to information systems, threatening the privacy and security of individuals and organisations worldwide.” Israel’s NSO Group developed Pegasus spyware and in 2018 the Canadian-based Citizen Lab, involved in “investigating digital espionage against civil society”, reported that suspected Pegasus-infected devices were traced to 45 countries, including South Africa. Reports recently emerged that President Cyril Ramaphosa may have been among those spied on via his phone. Red flags have previously been raised about South Africa and cybercrime. Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale, in the 2019/20 South African Police Service Annual Report, acknowledged it as an evolving problem. “The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) implies significant technological advancements for the country and the continent, but also involves significant risk,” he said. “The threat to the South African economy and population posed by the malicious and criminal targeting of cyberspace is significant and must be countered and acted upon.” According to the October 2021 Interpol report, there is a “critical absence of cybersecurity protocol, cyber-resilience as well as mitigation and prevention measures for individuals and businesses” in Africa. There are more than 500 million internet users across the continent. Kenya has the most online citizens, followed by Nigeria, then South Africa, with about 56% of its population online. Mobile banking, used widely in these countries, was flagged. “It poses a significant future threat, with the rise in malicious apps on mobile devices exploiting increasing vulnerabilities,” the report said. “The growing rate of digital transformation within the African region is facilitating the emergence of new attack vectors and opportunities for cybercriminals.” It said that from January 2020 to February 2021 a multinational cybersecurity software company, Trend Micro, recorded millions of threat detections – 679 million email ones, 8.2 million file ones and 14.3 million web ones. “More specifically, South Africa had 230 million threat detections in total, while Kenya had 72 million and Morocco 71 million,” it said. “In South Africa, 219 million detections were related to email threats. South Africa also had the highest targeted ransomware and BEC [business email compromise] attempts. “The exploitation of these vulnerabilities within South Africa was further highlighted by [Irish-based company specialising in IT services] Accenture, who identified that South Africa has the third highest number of cybercrime victims worldwide, at a cost of R2.2 billion a year.” This country also stood out on the continent in terms of ransomware. “South Africa was the country most heavily affected by targeted ransomware in the first quarter of 2021, with a variety of families such as Crysis, Nefilim, Ryuk, Clop, and Conti ransomware,” the report said. Some of South Africa’s most crucial departments have recently been the targets of effective online hijackers. Enrico Calandro, co-director at Cybersecurity Capacity Centre for Southern Africa, told DM168 that, because it was not yet publicly known who was behind the attacks, it was not clear if these were opportunistic or specifically targeted. “Utilities and other national critical infrastructures, as well as IT systems of state departments, are vulnerable to attacks because of the essential services they offer – be it water or electricity supply, transport in the case of Transnet, or public services,” he said. “They are often exclusive suppliers of these services, thus offering a single point of failure.” In one of the most recent cases, the Justice and Constitutional Development Department was hit in September when its “IT systems were encrypted and unavailable to officials and the public and affecting all of the department’s electronic systems”. The trickle-down effect was immense, with the running of courts affected and payments to maintenance beneficiaries delayed. “Focused support continues to be given to courts across the country to ensure that court proceedings are not negatively affected by the IT system challenges,” a statement at the time said. An IT team was worked with others and introduced standard procedures for manually operated court recording technology systems. “The Master’s Offices around the country continue to, as interim measure, use a manual process to provide bereaved families, in exceptional cases, where there is a need to access funds from the deceased’s banking account for burial costs,” the statement said. By October the department had managed to stop the spread of malware. An assessment of “1,200 files containing personal information that may have been compromised during the attack” had been completed. Two months earlier, on 22 July, Transnet and Transnet Port Terminals was targeted, resulting in it declaring force majeure at container terminals. Some operations had to be switched to manual. > Some experts have observed that the attack against Transnet caused a > cascading, systemic failure at a regional and national level, including > economic damage and food insecurity, which could lead to societal instability > and therefore it could be an act of cyberwarfare. The Transnet attack happened the same month as the attempted insurrection events centred in KwaZulu-Natal, some of which were fuelled on social media platforms including Twitter. Parliament later heard that “cyber capabilities are seriously lacking” in the police service and Hawks. “Much of the [Kwazulu-Natal related] unrest happened on social media and governmental departments were concerned about manipulation of social media posts,” minutes of a September meeting, about an oversight visit to that province, in Parliament said. “Due to the fact that the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020 is not yet in operation, they [the authorities] had to use the Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005.” Ramaphosa signed the Cybercrimes Act into law earlier this year, but it was not immediately operational. Calandro told DM168 that acts that disrupted critical infrastructure amounted to “an armed attack” and could be considered cyberwarfare. “Some experts have observed that the attack against Transnet caused a cascading, systemic failure at a regional and national level, including economic damage and food insecurity, which could lead to societal instability and therefore it could be an act of cyberwarfare,” he said. “However, only governments, organs of the state, or state-directed or state-sponsored individuals or groups can engage in cyberwarfare. “Other experts instead observed that the Transnet ransom note was similar to others seen in recent months, linked to ransomware strains known variously as ‘Death Kitty’, ‘Hello Kitty’ and ‘Five Hands,’” Calandro said. It was reported the attack could have been carried out by Eastern European or Russian criminals. This week a Transnet official told DM168 there were no new developments to report. In an October 2021 response to Parliamentary questions about the cyberattack, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan provided some details. He said that all information and communications technology systems had been shut down to stop the spread of malware. “Some servers and some workstations that were online at the time of the attack were encrypted by the ransomware… “It was a ransomware attack. There is a criminal investigation in progress.” The impact of the attack had a ripple effect. “Container volumes were delayed as a result of the cyberattack or the resulting congestion. However, most imports and exports would still be serviced through SA or neighbouring ports, albeit later than originally planned,” Gordhan said. “Automotive vessels were delayed due to system unavailability, which was mitigated by the implementation of manual processes. Some vessels have been diverted between terminals and other delayed volumes have caught up.” He said Transnet had been rolling out extra network security measures and this was fast-tracked. Meanwhile, it appears the National School of Government (NSG), the state’s training institution meant to build public service capacity, was a cybercrime victim and paid a ransom. This week the NSG did not respond to a DM168 query about the attack. Details on that attack previously emerged in Parliament. “The global pandemic created even further challenges for the NSG because as it was shifting its work to be more in line with technology, to deliver its services, it ended up becoming a victim of ransomware,” March 2021 Parliamentary meeting minutes said. “The NSG was required to pay about R2-million which was unbudgeted for, because it faced a crisis of losing its ability to use its system. When the system was lost for about two months, the NSG could not generate some of the quotations for people who wanted to train virtually. Covid therefore had a major impact on its operations.” There have been some major cybercrime crackdowns in other countries. In September 2021, Ireland’s Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau announced it had seized domains used in ransomware attacks in an operation targeting a cybercrime group based in Russia. A Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau statement said the seizure of domains prevents “a large number of further Ransomware Attacks across the world”. “To date a total of 753 attempts were made by ICT [information and communications technology] systems across the world to connect to the seized domains,” it said. “In each instance, the seizure of these domains … is likely to have prevented a Ransomware Attack on the connecting ICT system, by rendering the initially deployed malware on the victim’s system as ineffective.” At the time, asked if South Africa had perhaps been targeted or affected in any way, Emma Farrelly of the Garda Press Office responded to a Daily Maverick query: “There is no further information being made available in relation to this investigation.” UNDERWORLD ONLINE * 230 million threat detections in SA in a year * National School of Government paid R2-million in ransomware attack * All electronic services affected, and 1,200 personal files possibly compromised in Justice and Constitutional Development Department attack * Eastern European or Russian cybercriminals possibly behind Transnet Port Terminals attack * Ireland’s cybercrime police seized domains in an operation targeting a Russian group thereby preventing ransomware attacks across the world * US blacklists Israeli firm that supplied Pegasus spyware –` apparently traced to countries including SA – to foreign governments, allegedly to “maliciously target” figures including state officials, activists, and journalists (Sources: Interpol’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report, Parliamentary meeting minutes, government press releases, research) DECODING CYBERATTACKS Enrico Calandro, co-director at Cybersecurity Capacity Centre for Southern Africa, explains different types of attacks: * Malware or ‘malicious software’ is intrusive software designed to cause damage to computer systems and data, or to gain unauthorised access to a network. * “It may have a variety of goals. For instance, it may trick victims to provide personal data for identity theft, it could steal credit card or other financial data and information, it could take control of multiple computers to launch denial-of-service attacks, or it could infect computers and use them to mine bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. * “Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts the victim’s data and files until a ransom is paid. The demand normally involves intimidating messages which instil fear and panic into the victims, and a deadline after which the ransom might increase or the data and files will be deleted. * “Only after the ransom is paid [will] the attacker [provide] a decryption key to restore access to the victim’s data. In some cases, a decryption key is not sent even after the payment of the ransom. Normally, payment is demanded in virtual currency, such as bitcoins.” DM168 This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for R25 at Pick n Pay, Exclusive Books and airport bookstores. For your nearest stockist, please click here. * Cyberattacks * Cybercrime * Hacking * Ransomware * South Africa -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMENTS - SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE Please note you must be a Maverick Insider to comment. Sign up here or sign in if you are already an Insider. Everybody has an opinion but not everyone has the knowledge and the experience to contribute meaningfully to a discussion. That’s what we want from our members. Help us learn with your expertise and insights on articles that we publish. We encourage different, respectful viewpoints to further our understanding of the world. View our comments policy here. No Comments, yet Adverts on/off? You choose. X TOP READS THIS HOUR DM168 PROCUREMENT MAFIA TARGETS GOLD FIELDS’S NEW SOLAR POWER STATION PROJECT South Africa ROCKY ROADS, TAKE ME HOME: ANC’S LONG-TERM FATE MAY BE DECIDED IN 2024 — AND IT WON’T BE A SMOOTH TRIP South Africa ESKOM RUNNING ON EMPTY: DIESEL SUPPLIES ARE ‘CRITICALLY LOW’ DM168 FOREIGN FRANCHISE: SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY SUFFERS A PLAYER EXODUS DM168 CYBERATTACKS: SOUTH AFRICA, YOU’VE BEEN HACKED TOP READS IN SECTION 2021 Local Elections MUNICIPAL POLL RESULTS THROW PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA ON THE HORNS OF A DILEMMA DM168 CYBERATTACKS: SOUTH AFRICA, YOU’VE BEEN HACKED 2021 Local Elections THE BIGGEST WINNERS AND LOSERS OF SOUTH AFRICA'S LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLLS DM168 PROCUREMENT MAFIA TARGETS GOLD FIELDS’S NEW SOLAR POWER STATION PROJECT DM168 NELSON MANDELA BAY DAY ZERO: ‘WE WILL RUN OUT OF WATER BEFORE CHRISTMAS’ TOP READS THIS WEEK 2021 Local Elections TUESDAY MORNING: EARLY RESULTS PAINT BLEAK PICTURE FOR ANC AS ACTIONSA THREAT EMERGES IN JOBURG 2021 Local Elections THE FULL PICTURE: VIEW THE POLL RESULTS VIA DAILY MAVERICK'S CUSTOMISED PROVINCIAL MAPS 2021 Local Elections HERMAN MASHABA’S ACTION SA IS A BREAKOUT STORY OF ELECTION – THE COUNT CONTINUES 2021 Local Elections RET KNIVES OUT FOR RAMAPHOSA: ZUMA FACTION MOBILISES TO BLAME PARTY PRESIDENT FOR POOR ANC SHOWING South Africa THE BEAT GOES ON FOR GIFT OF THE GIVERS FOUNDER IMTIAZ SOOLIMAN DESPITE CRITICAL HEART PROCEDURE INVESTIGATIONS * Scorpio * Our Burning Planet * amaBhungane * Maverick Citizen * Declassified UK * Contact Us INVESTIGATIONS * Scorpio * Our Burning Planet * amaBhungane * Maverick Citizen * Declassified UK * Contact Us NEWS & ANALYSIS * Business Maverick * Maverick Citizen * Maverick Sports * Newsdeck * Contact Us NEWS & ANALYSIS * Business Maverick * Maverick Citizen * Maverick Sports * Newsdeck * Contact Us FEATURES * Opinionista * Maverick Life * TGIFood * COVID-19 * Podcasts * Zapiro FEATURES * Opinionista * Maverick Life * TGIFood * COVID-19 * Podcasts * Zapiro NEWSLETTERS * First Thing * Business Maverick * Judith’s Prudence * SME * Life & Books * TGIFood * Zapiro * Sports * Advertise with us NEWSLETTERS * First Thing * Business Maverick * Judith’s Prudence * SME * Life & Books * TGIFood * Zapiro * Sports * Advertise with us COMMUNITY * Membership * Events & Webinars * Announcements * Buy Books & Swag * Reader Covenant * Contact us COMMUNITY * Membership * Events & Webinars * Announcements * Buy Books & Swag * Reader Covenant * Contact us DM168 * Vote for your store * Distribution Outlets * e-edition * Contact Us DM168 * Vote for your store * Distribution Outlets * e-edition * Contact Us Daily Maverick © All rights reserved We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. 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The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.ajs_anonymous_idneverThis cookie is set by Segment.io to check the number of ew and returning visitors to the website.ajs_user_idneverThe cookie is set by Segment.io and is used to analyze how you use the websiteANON_ID3 monthsThis cookie is provided by Tribalfusion. The cookie is used to give a unique number to visitors, and collects data on user behaviour like what page have been visited. This cookie also helps to understand which sale has been generated by as a result of the advertisement served by third party.jam_heavy_ga_session5 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics.UserID13 monthsThe cookie sets a unique anonymous ID for a website visitor. This ID is used to continue to identify users across different sessions and track their activities on the website. The data collected is used for analysis.uvc1 year 1 monthThe cookie is set by addthis.com to determine the usage of Addthis.com service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. CookieDurationDescription__tbc2 yearsThis cookie is used for measuring the efficiency of advertisement by registering data on visitors from multiple website._cc_aud8 months 26 daysThe cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising._cc_ccsessionThe cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising._cc_dc8 months 26 daysThe cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising._cc_id8 months 26 daysThe cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising._kuid_5 months 27 daysThe cookie is set by Krux Digital under the domain krxd.net. The cookie stores a unique ID to identify a returning user for the purpose of targeted advertising._rxuuid1 yearThe main purpose of this cookie is targeting, advertesing and effective marketing. This cookie is used to set a unique ID to the visitors, which allow third party advertisers to target the visitors with relevant advertisement up to 1 year.ANON_ID_old3 monthsThis cookie helps to categorise the users interest and to create profiles in terms of resales of targeted marketing. This cookie is used to collect user information such as what pages have been viewed on the website for creating profiles.bscookie2 yearsThis cookie is a browser ID cookie set by Linked share Buttons and ad tags.CMID1 yearThe cookie is set by CasaleMedia. The cookie is used to collect information about the usage behavior for targeted advertising.CMPRO3 monthsThis cookie is set by Casalemedia and is used for targeted advertisement purposes.CMPS3 monthsThis cookie is set by Casalemedia and is used for targeted advertisement purposes.CMST1 dayThe cookie is set by CasaleMedia. The cookie is used to collect information about the usage behavior for targeted advertising.DSID1 hourThis cookie is setup by doubleclick.net. This cookie is used by Google to make advertising more engaging to users and are stored under doubleclick.net. It contains an encrypted unique ID.google_push5 minutesThis cookie is set by the Bidswitch. This cookie is used to collect statistical data related to the user website visit such as the number of visits, average time spent on the website and what pages have been loaded. This collected information is used to sort out the users based on demographics and geographical locations inorder to serve them with relevant online advertising.i1 yearThe purpose of the cookie is not known yet.id3 monthsThe main purpose of this cookie is targeting and advertising. It is used to create a profile of the user's interest and to show relevant ads on their site. This Cookie is set by DoubleClick which is owned by Google.IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.IDSYNC1 yearThis cookie is used for advertising purposes.KADUSERCOOKIE3 monthsThe cookie is set by pubmatic.com for identifying the visitors' website or device from which they visit PubMatic's partners' website.KTPCACOOKIE1 dayThis cookie is set by pubmatic.com for the purpose of checking if third-party cookies are enabled on the user's website.ljt_reader1 yearThis is a Lijit Advertising Platform cookie. The cookie is used for recognizing the browser or device when users return to their site or one of their partner's site.loc1 year 1 monthThis cookie is set by Addthis. This is a geolocation cookie to understand where the users sharing the information are located.mc1 year 1 monthThis cookie is associated with Quantserve to track anonymously how a user interact with the website.mt_mop1 monthStores information about how the user uses the website such as what pages have been loaded and any other advertisement before visiting the website for the purpose of targeted advertisements.personalization_id2 yearsThis cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting.suid_legacy1 yearThis cookie is used to collect information on user preference and interactioin with the website campaign content. This cookie is used for promoting events and products by the webiste owners on CRM-campaign-platform.TDCPM1 yearThe cookie is set by CloudFlare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.TDID1 yearThe cookie is set by CloudFlare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.tluid3 monthsThis cookie is set by the provider AdRoll.This cookie is used to identify the visitor and to serve them with relevant ads by collecting user behaviour from multiple websites.tuuid1 yearThis cookie is set by .bidswitch.net. The cookies stores a unique ID for the purpose of the determining what adverts the users have seen if you have visited any of the advertisers website. The information is used for determining when and how often users will see a certain banner.tuuid_lu1 yearThis cookie is set by .bidswitch.net. The cookies stores a unique ID for the purpose of the determining what adverts the users have seen if you have visited any of the advertisers website. The information is used for determining when and how often users will see a certain banner.uid5 months 27 daysThis cookie is used to measure the number and behavior of the visitors to the website anonymously. The data includes the number of visits, average duration of the visit on the website, pages visited, etc. for the purpose of better understanding user preferences for targeted advertisments.uuid1 year 27 daysTo optimize ad relevance by collecting visitor data from multiple websites such as what pages have been loaded.VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysThis cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.wfivefivec1 year 1 monthThe domain of this cookie is owned by Dataxu. The main business activity of this cookie is targeting and advertising. This cookie tracks the advertisement report which helps us to improve the marketing activity.xbc2 yearsThis cookie is used for optmizing the advertisement on the website more relevant by analysing the user behaviour and interaction with the website.YSCsessionThis cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos. Others Others Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. CookieDurationDescription__cflb23 hoursThis cookie is used by Cloudflare for load balancing.ajs_group_idneverThis cookie is set by Segment.io. The purpose of the cookie is currently not identified.revengine-browser-tokensessionRevEngine Data Tool.UserMatchHistory1 monthLinkedin - Used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.vicinity_id1 year 10 months 24 days 11 hoursVicinity Advertising. SAVE & ACCEPT Powered by BECOME AN INSIDER There are many great benefits to being a Maverick Insider. Removing advertising from your browsing experience is one of them - we don't just block ads, we redesign our pages to look smarter and load faster. Click here to see other benefits and to sign-up to our reader community supporting quality, independent journalism. 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