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Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim revealed that hackers attempted to infiltrate Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad’s (MAHB) digital systems and demanded US$10 million (approximately RM44.4 million) from the government, which he immediately rejected.
Anwar made the revelation while attending the 218th Police Day celebrations in Kuala Lumpur earlier today (25 March).
Yesterday, we discussed cyber attacks and hacking, which have been quite severe against MAHB in the past day or two. So, there were discussions about how to resolve it, including demands from hackers to obtain funds of USD 10 million or so. I was informed, and Alhamdulillah (praise be to God,) it’s Ramadan, I didn’t even wait five seconds, I immediately answered ‘no’.
He explains that it can never be secure if the country’s leadership submits to ultimatums from criminals, traitors, or foreigners.
While Anwar did not provide detailed information about the attempted breach of the airport company, he emphasized that this incident proves the need to allocate more resources to institutions like the police force and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to prevent hacker attacks.
Airport Chaos or Clickbait?
In a post on X, former Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong questioned if MAHB had become a victim of a cyber attack, claiming there were system disruptions at KLIA and KLIA2.
Details were limited even on social media, but according to Wee, the flight information displays were among the systems affected.
Instead, arrival information and displays were updated manually on whiteboards.
Wee claimed that check-in counters and baggage handling systems were also affected during the 10-hour disruption.
However, these claims were challenged by other social media users who posted photos showing the flight information boards working normally at KLIA, suggesting that the story may have been blown out of proportion.
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