KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 21): The National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) assures that the recent hacking incident by international hacker group R00TK1T was not on the Central Database Hub System (Pangkalan Data Utama or Padu), but on LPPKN’s internal server as the iKnow System.
In an official statement issued on Tuesday, LPPKN stated that the cyberattack, which occurred the day before, involved information meant for internal reference and that its services were not affected.
“The attack was not on Padu as circulated on social media but refers to LPPKN’s iKnow system which is also named Padu, a unit within LPPKN,” stated LPPKN.
“The folder affected only involves documents related to pre- and post-programmes implemented by the Padu unit that no longer exists.
“LPPKN assures that our services remain unaffected as the server affected only contained files for internal reference.
According to a SoyaCincau news report, R00TK1T claimed that it managed to gain access to around 27TB worth of information on a fileserver that belonged to LPPKN.
On its Telegram channel, the group shared a screenshot that showed several folders with the name “PADU” on them which is probably why R00TK1T thought that it had hacked the “PADU organisation”, stated SoyaCincau.
The board also asserted that it had implemented precautionary measures on the day of the attack to reinforce its system and ensured that no malware was present in the server.
“Steps to restore and strengthen the system were taken on the same day as the attack. The affected folders are being thoroughly scanned to ensure there is no malware anywhere in the server,” it added.
The attacks comes weeks after R00TK1T said it attacked Maxis. R00TK1T claimed to have infiltrated what appears to be one of Maxis’ employee dashboards to prove that its systems are not as impenetrable as they seem.
The telecommunication giant denied the February 5 attack, stressing that the incident only affected third-party vendor systems.
In retaliation, the hacker group issued another threat to shut down the telco’s systems and expose valuable data and vulnerabilities every two hours if Maxis failed to acknowledge their successful breach.
A few hours later, hackers claimed they breached Maxis’ Kulim network firewall. A screenshot from SoyaCincau suggests R00TK1T may have executed a factory reset on one of Maxis’ agrotech systems.
At 11.34pm on February 5, the group issued a final ultimatum, posting a screenshot of current connections at Quayside Mall in Kota Kemuning, Selangor, and claimed to have an elite team of "52 highly skilled mercenaries" ready to act.
R00TK1T stated Maxis’ continued ignorance fuelled its determination. It also thanked disgruntled employees for providing inside information about Malaysian authorities and large companies.
Other than Maxis, R00TK1T warned that it is collectively targeting all companies in Malaysia, including the country’s digital infrastructure, and it will not stop until its message is heard loud and clear.
Its first target was Aminia, a telecommunications vendor. Besides Maxis, the group also claimed to have attacked YouTutor, an online learning platform.