The name of ISIS did rounds again in the world of cyberspace on Monday, with the hacking on Malaysia Airlines' website, even as the airline, still recovering from the loss of two aircraft last year that left 537 people dead or missing, claimed that passenger data is secure and that it has not affected bookings.
The website (www.malaysiaairlines.com) was defaced by a group claiming to be Cyber Caliphate, and a photo of a lizard smoking a pipe popped up on the airline's website early on Monday, besides the words "404 Plane Not Found" appearing right on top in red.
On its Facebook page, Malaysia Airlines said: "...We confirm that our Domain Name System (DNS) has been compromised where users are re-directed to a hacker website when www.malaysiaairlines.com URL is keyed in."
| Cyber caliphate hacks Malaysia Airlines website |
"At this stage, Malaysia Airlines' web servers are intact. The airline has resolved the issue with its service provider and the system is expected to be fully recovered within 22 hours," the airline said.
By evening, the website of the airline was up and running but earlier reports connect Cyber Caliphate to ISIS, termed a terror outfit which has managed to capture and hold territories in Syria and Iraq. It has been no secret that ISIS has effectively employed the internet and social media for its propaganda.
According to Wall Street Journal, "...for some time the airline's website said 'ISIS will prevail' and people logging onto the website had issues with either proceeding with bookings or even navigate to find other information." In Bengaluru, Mehdi Masroor Biswas, a man allegedly running a Twitter handle in support of ISIS is remanded in judicial custody and the police claim to have found several leads in the case, including some that may have led to recruitment of people for ISIS.
ISIS, reports indicate had warned its personnel and sympathisers against travelling to Syria via Malaysia given the increasing police crackdown.
The airline said that it had immediately reported the matter to CyberSecurity Malaysia and the ministry of transport. "...Malaysia Airlines assures customers and clients that its website was not hacked and this temporary glitch does not affect their bookings and that user data remains secured," it said.
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