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Four to be quizzed over KLIA glitch

KUALA LUMPUR: POLICE are set to call up at least four people for questioning over the network failure which hit operations at both terminals of the Kuala Lumpur International Aiport (KLIA) recently.

It is learnt that the four people are familiar with the function of network core switches, which are considered critical pieces of the national infrastructure, and Total Airport Management System (TAMS) at KLIA and klia2.

The New Straits Times has learnt that Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd (MAHB) had listed the names of the four people in the police report it lodged over the network failure that resulted in a systems outage for almost four days at both terminals beginning Aug 21.

KLIA police chief Assistant Commissioner Zulkifli Adamshah confirmed that MAHB lodged a report over the issue on Tuesday.

The report, he said, was lodged by MAHB’s Information Technology Division senior general manager.

Zulkifli had said the incident would be investigated under Section 427 of the Penal Code for causing damage through act of mischief.

The NST published a front-page report on Saturday suggesting that the systems disruption at KLIA and klia2 could be due to a cyberattack.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke, however, had asked for all quarters to stop speculating about the reason behind the systems failure at both terminals, which resulted in the delay of dozens of flights.

Loke had said it was premature to link the incident to any cyberattack.

A day earlier, MAHB chief executive officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin, in a statement, did not rule out the possibility of “an act with malicious intent” that had resulted in the network failure at both terminals.

The airport operator, he had said, would leave it to the authorities to investigate.

The Transport Ministry has formed a committee to investigate the incident and to recommend measures to avoid such incidences in the future.

The committee, which would be headed by the ministry’s secretary-general, Datuk Mohd Khairul Adib Abdul Rahman, has been given one month to come out with a detailed report.

Other members of the committee are Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) executive chairman Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi, Mavcom member Datuk Seri Long See Wool, Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia (CAAM) chief executive officer Ahmad Nizar Zolfakar, CAAM member Afzal Abdul Rahim, National Cyber Security Agency chief executive Md Shah Nuri Md Zain and representatives from the ministry’s aviation department.

Source: NST