KUALA LUMPUR, The Social Security Organisation (Socso) has given its assurance that the agency’s system, database and website, which hackers attacked on Saturday (Dec 2), will not disrupt services to contributors, employers and the public.
Socso said that all payments of benefits, compensation and disability pension to the contributors and next-of-kin will still be carried out according to the stipulated period.
It said that the crisis management plan was also activated on the day the attack was made.
“At the initial stage, the modus operandi of the cyber attack was identified as aiming to disable the entire Sosco infrastructure used for daily operations.
“However, the Socso’s information and communication technology (ICT) unit’s success in regaining control of the system eventually caused the hackers to change their tactics, by attempting to launch a character assassination attack against the agency’s image,” Socso said in a statement.
Regarding the leakage of information displayed on the dark web, Socso said that according to the results of the preliminary investigation, the validity of the data stolen by hackers was highly doubtful, incomplete and expired.
“This cyber attack against Socso is not the first time, but rather a series of intrusions, with the last one occurring in September and being successfully contained.
“This irresponsible act is an attack which targets national interests. Therefore, all forensic results will be shared with the authorities to avoid the same episode repeating itself against other agencies,” read the statement.
Meanwhile, Human Resources Minister, V. Sivakumar, said that the cyber attack did not affect the welfare of Socso contributors, because those leaked were expired data.
“I will ensure that no party is affected by this incident. The Ministry of Human Resources gives its assurance that the interests of the country and the rights of the people, especially the rights of Sosco contributors, will continue to be protected,” he said in a statement.
He said that the ministry will also intensify mitigation measures by seeking the cooperation of agencies and authorities from relevant ministries.
Earlier, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil was reported to have said that CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM), the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) and the Personal Data Protection Department will investigate the cyber attack on the Socso website.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency