A syndicate suspected of hacking the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMs) to illegally process Temporary Employment Visit Pass (PLKS) applications allegedly relied on insiders within the Immigration Department to gain access to the system.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the operation, known as Op Crack, revealed that the syndicate could not have carried out the scheme without assistance from individuals who understood the department’s internal systems.
He said external parties would not be able to penetrate the MyIMMs platform, adding that security checks conducted with CyberSecurity Malaysia had found no evidence of an external breach.
“The system could not be breached from outside. In this case, it involved insiders who had knowledge of how the system operates,” he said during a press conference at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters.
Zakaria said investigations found that the suspects allegedly used dongle devices and specially installed software on computers to access the system before using administrator credentials to create fake accounts and approve fraudulent PLKS applications.
Op Crack was launched following intelligence sharing between the MACC and the Immigration Department in May, with enforcement raids carried out on July 28.
The operation involved several agencies including the MACC, Immigration Department, Securities Commission Malaysia, Telekom Malaysia, National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) and the MACC Technology Forensics Division.
A total of 12 individuals have been remanded to assist investigations, including two company directors, three foreign nationals, six Immigration Department officers and a police officer.
Authorities also seized RM186,360 in cash, SGD700, 19 mobile phones, six laptops, two computers, two CPUs, a router as well as gold jewellery and bullion estimated to be worth RM15,700.
The MACC is also taking steps to freeze bank accounts belonging to individuals and companies believed to be linked to the investigation as authorities continue probing the alleged misuse of the immigration system.
