KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 — Malaysia and Interpol are investigating an alleged attempt by hackers to siphon off classified information from the Flight MH370 probe to an IP (Internet Protocol) address in China.
According to The Star today, some 30 computers belonging to those involved in the multi-nation probe were infected by a malware (malicious software) just a day after the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plane was reported missing on March 8.
The malware, according to CyberSecurity Malaysia chief executive Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab, was disguised as a news article on the missing plane and was emailed to high-ranking officials in a number of agencies on March 9.
The emails came with an attached file made to look like a PDF document, The Star reported, which released the malware into the computer once the user opened the file.
The agencies targeted included the Civil Aviation Department (DCA), National Security Council and MAS.
Amirudin said after the malware files were sent, administrators from the affected agencies began complaining of congestion in their network, which was suddenly flooded with emails leaving their servers.
“Those e-mail contained confidential data from the officials’ computer, including minutes of meetings and classified documents.
“Some of these were related to the MH370 investigation,” the cyber security expert told the English-language daily.
Further investigation showed that the emails were sent to an IP address in China. There were 153 Chinese nationals aboard Flight MH370, which was heading to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on the day it disappeared.
CyberSecurity Malaysia then requested that China’s Internet Service Providers (ISP) block the transmissions, The Star reported. The agency also moved to shut down all the infected machines.
CyberSecurity Malaysia is an agency under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry.
According to The Star, the agency suspects that the motive of the hacking was specifically to obtain information on the probe on Flight MH370’s still-unsolved disappearance.
“At that time, there were some people accusing the government of not releasing crucial information,” Amirudin was quoted as saying.
He added, however, that “everything” on the investigation had been disclosed to the public.
The Star reported that CyberSecurity Malaysia and the local police are currently working with Interpol to identify the culprits behind the hacking.
The MAS Boeing 777-2ER carrying 239 people aboard took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on March 8 and was headed to Beijing, China, before it fell off the radar less than an hour later.
More than five months later, not a single debris from the aircraft has turned up and an international hunt is still ongoing for the plane and its people in the Indian Ocean.
