KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 — Several sources have disputed Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and the National Cyber Security Agency’s (Nacsa) claim that airport operations have not been affected by the recent cyberattacks.

New Straits Times quoted an anonymous source claiming that initial findings suggested that a cyber intrusion compromised Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s (KLIA) critical systems, leading to a prolonged outage.

“However, authorities have yet to confirm the nature of the attack or identify the parties responsible,” they reportedly said.

NST reported that the source said the incident began in the early hours, and had disabled the airport’s flight information display system, check-in counters, and baggage handling services, forcing airlines and airport staff to rely on manual operations.

The source said the disruption had severely impacted flight schedules, leading to multiple delays throughout the day.

“The situation was further compounded by the lack of a robust backup system, which slowed recovery efforts,” they reportedly said.

NST also quoted an aviation industry source saying flight information boards were down intermittently for two days following the attack before normal operations resumed.

“Can’t say we weren’t affected. Thousands of people saw that the boards weren’t working,” the source was quoted saying.

Yesterday, MAHB confirmed that a cybersecurity threat affecting certain computer systems at KLIA was detected on March 23, following the revelation by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

In a joint statement with the Nacsa, MAHB said an investigation was launched immediately, including notification to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).

This came after Anwar said an alleged hacker recently demanded US$10 million from the government after a cyber-attack against MAHB’s digital system.

The prime minister however said that the possibility of acquiescing was immediately shut down. - malaymail