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KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s Immigration Department has sacked 15 officers who were involved in sabotaging its online immigration system, myIMMs, which screens passengers leaving and entering Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The move follows concerns that the system seemed to have been compromised by frequent and “suspicious” breakdowns.
Immigration Director-General Sakib Kusmi told the Malaysian media on Tuesday (May 31) that the dismissed personnel had been with the department for between six months and 15 years. He said 14 more officers were suspended, while eight have had their salary increments frozen pending ongoing investigations.
Another 20 personnel, believed to be involved directly or indirectly in sabotaging myIMMs, are being monitored by the department’s intelligence division.
“We also transfer(red) 63 officers out of our headquarters in Putrajaya and have prepared a new name list for personnel that are supposed to be stationed at airports,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Last week, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said about 100 people, including officers from the Immigration Department, are believed to be involved in sabotaging the myIMMs system.
The suspects were in police custody following a three-month investigation into and surveillance of their activities.
It was previously reported that there were concerns the system may have been downed deliberately, with an unnamed Home Ministry source saying the high number of “breakdowns” indicated that many on watch lists could have gone under the radar.
The myIMMs system was linked to Interpol’s I-Checkit in 2014 to enable the authorities to verify within seconds if a passport had been stolen or reported lost.
Malaysia is worried that a compromise to the system would allow foreigners to sneak into the country, leaving room for terrorism, human trafficking and other criminal activities.
Mr Sakib said on Tuesday that the dismissed and suspended officers may have links to human-trafficking syndicates.
“They deal online. The instructions come from overseas. First, they have to access our system, then they can manipulate our system from outside. You can see this in our computers — the cursor moves without someone operating it.” He said actions such as these allowed the syndicates to bypass its systems.
As such, he said, the department’s standard operating procedures would be reviewed to curb misuse of power among its staff.
The weaknesses in the myIMMs system are not new, and had been highlighted in the Malaysian Auditor-General’s 2015 Report. Among other things, it said the system was not functioning satisfactorily.
The report said a biometric facility worth RM10.3million (S$3.4 million) was procured for myIMMs to screen and identify foreigners as well as Malaysian citizens at the country’s entry points, but it had not been installed and used. AGENCIES
http://www.todayonline.com/world/as...-sacked-sabotaging-computer-system-kl-airport
Immigration Director-General Sakib Kusmi told the Malaysian media on Tuesday (May 31) that the dismissed personnel had been with the department for between six months and 15 years. He said 14 more officers were suspended, while eight have had their salary increments frozen pending ongoing investigations.
Another 20 personnel, believed to be involved directly or indirectly in sabotaging myIMMs, are being monitored by the department’s intelligence division.
“We also transfer(red) 63 officers out of our headquarters in Putrajaya and have prepared a new name list for personnel that are supposed to be stationed at airports,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Last week, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said about 100 people, including officers from the Immigration Department, are believed to be involved in sabotaging the myIMMs system.
The suspects were in police custody following a three-month investigation into and surveillance of their activities.
It was previously reported that there were concerns the system may have been downed deliberately, with an unnamed Home Ministry source saying the high number of “breakdowns” indicated that many on watch lists could have gone under the radar.
The myIMMs system was linked to Interpol’s I-Checkit in 2014 to enable the authorities to verify within seconds if a passport had been stolen or reported lost.
Malaysia is worried that a compromise to the system would allow foreigners to sneak into the country, leaving room for terrorism, human trafficking and other criminal activities.
Mr Sakib said on Tuesday that the dismissed and suspended officers may have links to human-trafficking syndicates.
“They deal online. The instructions come from overseas. First, they have to access our system, then they can manipulate our system from outside. You can see this in our computers — the cursor moves without someone operating it.” He said actions such as these allowed the syndicates to bypass its systems.
As such, he said, the department’s standard operating procedures would be reviewed to curb misuse of power among its staff.
The weaknesses in the myIMMs system are not new, and had been highlighted in the Malaysian Auditor-General’s 2015 Report. Among other things, it said the system was not functioning satisfactorily.
The report said a biometric facility worth RM10.3million (S$3.4 million) was procured for myIMMs to screen and identify foreigners as well as Malaysian citizens at the country’s entry points, but it had not been installed and used. AGENCIES
http://www.todayonline.com/world/as...-sacked-sabotaging-computer-system-kl-airport
