Classified information from the computers of officials involved in the investigation into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 has been stolen, The Star Online reported Wednesday.
The computers of the high-ranking officials are said to have been hacked and the stolen information was allegedly being sent to a computer in China before the Malaysian Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry blocked the transmissions, the website reported.
The national cyber security specialist agency CyberSecurity Malaysia said that the malware that led to the information leak was sent to the officials via email on March 9, one day after the aircraft disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, according to The Star Online.
According to the security agency’s estimates, about 30 computers were infected by the malware. The agency is said to be working with Interpol on the incident at the moment. CyberSecurity Malaysia suspects that the motivation for the attack was the accusations of the Malaysian government made by some people of concealing crucial information about the investigation.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 flight MH370 traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board, of which there were 227 passengers and 12 crew members. On March 24, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said that, according to the satellite data, MH370 crashed in the southern part of the Indian Ocean.
