Al Jazeera has reported that the South African Government and security agencies have left secrets exposed at every level and foreign spies have access to all areas of government.

A secret security assessment by South African intelligence says foreign espionage is booming, with more than 140 foreign spies estimated to be operating in South Africa – and that the South African state is doing a poor job of protecting itself. They are thought to have gained access to government departments, ministries and “even the presidency” and are suspected of breaking into nuclear power plants, stealing military blueprints and hacking computers.

The report slams poor security awareness among civil servants, who regularly failing to observe the most basic procedures, leaving classified information unlocked and failing to adequately vet new recruits.

The secret assessment of the nation’s security vulnerabilities, written in October 2009 by South African intelligence, concludes information security is at ‘serious risk’ and says it will remain so in the ‘long-term.’