KUALA LUMPUR: Five men, including a Pakistani, were detained in connection with a syndicate, which stole personal data and sold it for profit.
The suspects were detained in a first-ever arrest of such a syndicate in a special operation codenamed Ops Kapas on Sept 5.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said those detained were aged between 34 and 52.
"Two of them, a Malaysian and a Pakistani are a web portal designer and a hacker.
"Three other individuals were agents and unlicensed debt collectors, who bought the stolen data," he told a press conference at the CCID headquarters here today (Oct 17).
Comm Ramli said the Pakistani man was the mastermind of the syndicate due to his hacking skills.
"We believe he entered Malaysia as a general worker 10 years ago.
"Investigations showed he had expertise in cyber-related work," he said.
Comm Ramli said the activities of the syndicate were first detected by Cyber Security Malaysia (CSM) after monitoring a website with data of users, who were registered with various companies and agencies.
"The data was obtained through hacking of systems used by companies and agencies.
"An investigation paper under Section 4(1) of the Computer Crimes Act 1997 was opened following a police report lodged by Cyber Security Malaysia," he said.
Comm Ramli said further investigations led police to a web portal "Query Smart Search", which stored some 400 million pieces of data of Malaysians, including names, MyKad numbers, addresses, bank account numbers and phone numbers.
"Access to the portal was given via rent to those interested between RM200 and RM800 per month.
"There are also data sold directly to buyers for RM1.50 until RM2 for each piece of data," he said.
Most of those who bought the data or rented access to the website were unlicensed money collectors, he said.
"We believe there are several other syndicates which are still conducting similar activities.
"We are tracking down those involved," he said.
Comm Ramli also hailed the cooperation from CSM and the Personal Data Protection department for their cooperation and expertise during Ops Kapas.
Asked whether there were ‘inside people’ involved in the theft of the data, Comm Ramli said it was being investigated.
"We also urge all companies and agencies, be it private or public, to enhance their cyber security to prevent data theft," he said.
