We have just reported that according to Digital Minister, Gobind Singh Deo that the number of incidents of hacking and data intrusion in Malaysia has increased by almost 1200 percent in 2023.
Recently, the police have announced that they have carried out an operation last month called Ops Kapas and arrested five individuals who are believed to be the masterminds behind a syndicate that sells the data of Malaysians to the dark web arena.
This syndicate consists of four Malaysians and a Pakistani hacker who has been operating for about a year. According to the Director of the PDRM Commercial Crime Investigation Department, Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, as many as 400 million Malaysians' personal details are sold at a value of RM2 or RM1.50 for each data detail.
A website has also reportedly been opened containing these personal details, and can be rented at a price of RM200 to RM800 per month depending on the amount of data accessed.
The arrested individuals include a hacker who is a Pakistani citizen who has lived in Malaysia for 10 years, while four other individuals are all Malaysian citizens, consisting of a website designer, two agents and a debt collector who had purchased the data this is stolen.
This website, called Query Smart Search has been detected by CyberSecurity Malaysia as containing customer data registered to many businesses and government services that have been hacked.
According to the PDRM, it was reported that the data contained in the website included name, MyKad number, home address, telephone number and bank account number.
In fact, Datuk Seri Ramli said that most individuals who purchase access to this website and also the data contained therein are also unlicensed debt collectors who may want to find debtor details such as telephone numbers and also home or office addresses.
When asked if there were thorn elements in the meat, Datuk Seri Ramli said that the matter is currently being investigated.