PETALING JAYA: The consequences would be more far-reaching if a politician’s social media accounts or personal devices are hacked compared with ordinary citizens.
Their devices and accounts could contain confidential information, including private conversations or government data and its policies, according to cyber security experts.
Fong Choong Fook, the chief executive officer of cybersecurity company LE Global Services Sdn Bhd (LGMS), added that there was also the risk that hackers could issue false statements with malicious intent.
He warned that compromised accounts and devices could also see their data and passwords published and sold in the dark web by the hackers.
“The damage is definitely more extensive if a politician’s social media account or device is hacked. Which is why they have to put more focus on their security,“ he told theSun today.
He was commenting PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad having their social media accounts hacked over the weekend.
While Anwar merely had issues logging in to his Twitter and Instagram, Khalid had his Telegram account taken control by a hacker who began sending messages impersonating him to his contacts, in an apparent attempt to take over the victims’ Whatsapp accounts and data.
According to Fong, it would be near impossible to determine the nature of the hacking unless a digital forensic was conducted.
Fong noted that while some victims might fall prey to general hackers, which are less dangerous and more random, politically motivated black hat hackers, like in the case of Khalid, could pose a more serious threat.
“They (black hat hackers) have specific targets locked on and will go through various methods to infiltrate, from basic email phishing to physical intrusion,“ he said.
Fellow cyber expert, Alan Yau Ti Dun of SysArmy Sdn Bhd, said among the measures that could be taken by politicians to protect their accounts include installing anti-malware on their devices, having multi-factor authentication and regularly changing passwords.
“It is also advisable for the politicians to have a separate device just to manage social media accounts to reduce the risk of private and confidential data leaked,“ he said.
Anwar and Khalid are just two of a growing list of politicians to have their social media accounts or their mobile devices hacked in recent months.
In February, Education Minister Maszlee Malik’s Twitter account was hack temporarily, with the hacker posting a series of random tweets.
In January, former Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein claimed his account was similarly hacked after his followers noted that his Twitter page had “liked” a pornography post.
Prior to the general election last year, Perak DAP chief Nga Kor Ming had his Gmail, Facebook and Twitter accounts hacked, which also resulted in 30,000 of his emails being lost from the inbox.
And on polling day on May 9, 2018, a score of politicians from both sides of the divide claimed their mobile phones and websites were hacked and that they have been receiving spam calls, allegedly to prevent them from communicating with their machinery.
