MAS hacking could be avoided if system constantly monitored - CyberSecurity

The hacking of Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) official website could have been avoided if the Domain Name System (DNS) server is constantly monitored and updated.

According to CyberSecurity Malaysia's vice-president of responsive service, Dr Aswami Fadillah Mohd Ariffin, the incident was not something new and can occur whenever a proper inspection of the DNS is not done.

"Normally hackers would take over the server and change the configurations, and they can infect other servers using malware or virus," he said when contacted by Astro AWANI.

Dr Aswami also asked internet users to be on the alert against the threats of hackers.

Meanwhile, he also asked internet users to contact Cyber999 if their systems are being hacked.

"By calling us, we can do forensic analysis so that the exact cause can be identified, and it is very important for users to audit their systems from time to time to keep it in good condition," he said.

Earlier today, the official website of Malaysian Airline System (MAS) was hacked twice in a span of 30 minutes.

At 10am this morning, netizens trying to enter the URL www.malaysiaairlines.com were directed to a page with an image of a MAS plane.

“404 – Plane Not Found. Hacked by Cyber Caliphate. Follow Cyber Caliphate on Twitter,” reads the text on the page.

The website then appeared to be fine, but was followed by another attack.

At 10.25am, an image of a suited lizard appeared on the page with the same text.

However, MAS later issued a statement denying that their website was hacked.

The airline explained that the 'temporary glitch' did not affect their bookings and that user data remained secured.