Cybersecurity: Malaysia Clear

PETALING JAYA (March 30): CyberSecurity Malaysia has given assurance that Malaysia's cyber landscape has not been subjected to any unusual trends or attempts to disrupt network systems in the light of the MH370 tragedy.

Its CEO, Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab in an email response to fz.com, cleared the air on rumours of cyberattacks.

"We have been closely monitoring the cyber security landscape, and we are pleased to inform you that in our observation there [has] been NO unusual trend, and NO attempt to attack Malaysian networks due to the tragic loss of flight MH370.

"The people of Malaysia and most parts of the world are united in prayer and sympathy for the passengers, crew, relatives and friends of those involved in MH370. We are also praying for the safety and success of the multinational search and rescue teams," he told fz.com.

The possibility of cyberattacks arose in an email allegedly from the National Security Council (NSC) which appeared on social media. The purported email warned of potential attacks on the websites of government ministries due to China's dissatisfaction towards Malaysia's handling of investigations into the missing plane.

The email read: "It is advised that the National Security Council has received notification from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) about possible cyberattacks from the Republic of China following the latest developments tragedy of MH370 aircraft.

"Accordingly, we ask the head of sector to monitor and notify of any matters to the CNII agency under the purview of your respective sectors."

So far, MCMC has yet to respond to fz.com's attempts to verify the alleged warning.

CyberSecurity has also issued advisories to caution the public against false news or hoaxes regarding MH370 that may contain malware.

The Malaysian Computer Emergency Response Team (MyCERT), a service under CyberSecurity, had observed that emergence of a Facebook App hosted on a malicious domain. Once clicked on it can infect users' computers.

This will cause the infected computer to allow the attacker to remotely control the computer to execute various commands as the malware gathers information about the IP address and host name of the infected computers.

MyCERT had also cautioned against the spread of hoax reports regarding "discoveries" of the missing plane on social media.

The agency recommends that Internet users do not pass on suspicious messages about the plane nor click or open any pictures or videos claiming to be video of the missing aircraft, as this may redirect to malicious websites.

However, if a post has already been shared, it is advised that immediate action to delete the video from Facebook wall or "unlike" it.



Source: FZ