Hacker Breaks Into Telekom's TMnet System

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The Star (Kuala Lumpur), February 19, 1997, p. 1:

Hacker Breaks Into Telekom's TMnet System

By Wee Chun Chuan and Fran Foo

Kuala Lumpur: A computer hacker broke into Internet service provided TMnet's system early yesterday, altering the appearance of its corporate homepage by adding the message "This Site Has Been Hacked!!!" in large blinking letters.

(A homepage is the welcome page of a site on the Internet's World Wide Web. It typically contains an introduction to the site and its operator and has links to other documents and information. It is also the first document a user sees when he accesses a website.)

A TMnet official who declined to be named admitted that a security breach occurred at approximately 12.55am yesterday and remained undetected fro almost seven hours, allowing the hacker to roam freely within TMnet's computer systems.

It is learnt the alteration was only detected after 8am.

Although no one has come forward to claim responsibility for the break-in, the official revealed that the perpetrator had been traced to an east coast location. He declined to divulge the hacker's identity.

"Any action taken against the person will probably be limited to a warning letter, as current legislation does not have provisions for this type of computer crime," the official added.

In reply to inquiries by The Star, Telekom Malaysia said it was conscious of "attempts by some Internet users to 'vandalize' TMnet's homepage."

The company advised all TMnet users not to divulge their ID or password to anyone.

Although Tuesday morning's security breach was considered a "harmless" intrusion in the sense that no data was stolen or destroyed, it has serious implications for TMnet and its subscribers.

Crackers (those who break into computer systems with malicious intent) have been known to:

+ Steal password files and use this information to access private accounts and data.

+ Delete or alter vital systems files, possibly crippling entire computer systems.

+ Compromise users' privacy by intercepting, reading and modifying their electronic mail; and

+ Use a penetrated system to launch attacks on other Internet sites.

At this time, however, the extent of the security breach at TMnet has not been determined.

TMnet is instrumental in various information technology (IT) projects undertaken by its operator Telekom Malaysia Bhd, including the Corporate Information Superhighway (COINS) -- a nationwide broadband communications network which supports multimedia applications, networked computing and communications.

TMSecureNet is another service being offered to corporate customers. It is designed to plug into the COINS network and provide various value-added services such as electronic commerce.

Rumours of a security breach at TMnet started circulating in late January on various Internet newsgroups.

In a response to enquiries by In Tech dated Jan 31, Telekom Malaysia said: "Investigations to data have not found any breach of security. Telekom Malaysia will, however, continue with our investigation in accordance with our normal procedures in such matters."

releated article:

TMnet users shocked at lax security

Kuala Lumpur: The TMnet security breach shows that Telekom Malaysia has not sorted out vital security issues, subscribers said.

Graphic designer M. L. Yen said she was disgusted that something like this could happen.

"TMnet's security is as bad as its customer service -- both are virtually non-existent," she said.

As an Internet service provider, TMnet must be held responsible for its lax attitude towards security issues, she added.

Yen, who logged into the system at 2am to check her e-mail, was shocked to find the hacker's message on its homepage.

Another subscriber, Raden A. Shauki R. Hisam, sent a fax to In Tech expressing his surprise over the break-in.

He said that although the alteration to the homepage was minor, the security breach could lead to more serious things.

Raden expressed outrage over the possibility that private and confidential information can be tampered with.

Mimos Bhd vice-president for government sector Dr Mohamed Awang-Lah said nobody can guarantee total security for a computer system. "There is always a trade-off between security and convenience."

Mimos is the nation's first Internet service provider and runs the Jaring network.

Dr Mohamed said this attack was not really surprising or unique, as top ISPs in the United States have also experienced hacker attacks over the years.

"All we can do is to continue monitoring our systems regularly and do our best to safeguard our systems," he said.

Kho Han Mien, Silicon Group of Companies chief executive officer, agreed: "This was indeed a regrettable incident, but the risk will always be there, and we can only attempt to minimize that risk."

He also noted that the quality and quantity of systems administrators in the industry have not been able to meet this challenge.