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Universiti Malaya E-Pay portal is down after being defaced

Universiti Malaya (UM) E-Pay Cashless Payment and Records portal is currently inaccessible after it was reportedly defaced with what appears to be a protest message, last night.

According to a Twitter post, the defaced portal carried a message that included hashtags #NoRasis and #UndurVC, probably to highlight the recent student protest at the university’s convocation ceremony.

Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching said the ministry has yet to receive a report on the incident.

“I just read about it this morning. Let us get the details first before I comment,” she said after the launch of the “Back-to-School” programme at SK Klang Gate.

The online portal was launched in January this year to allow students to make financial transactions such as paying university fees.

The Star sighted a series of WhatsApp messages circulated by students warning others from accessing any of UM’s other portals for the next 24 hours.

Some claimed that more than one UM portal has been hacked, and it’s likely to put their information at risk if they logged in.

“Hey guys, please don’t log into Spectrum, MYUM and UM E-Pay for the next 24 hours. All of these websites have been hacked. The hacker can see your credentials and also can see your MYUM financial account status,” the message read.

A UM lecturer also sent out a similar message, warning students not to log in to UM’s websites, saying it could also be infected with malware.

A chemical engineering student at UM believes the attack was to highlight an ongoing protest by a student group against UM vice-chancellor Datuk Abdul Rahim Rashid.

“This is not the right way and platform to express their feelings. Why affect other innocent students and the operating system of the university?” the person said.

Another student who also wished to remain anonymous expressed disappointment that the UM vice-chancellor attended the Malay Dignity Congress.

“I think it’s acceptable for this unknown party to hack the UM E-pay portal as a protest. But that’s if they do not take any advantage of the students’ financial data,” the person said.

“If they do, that’d be wrong. It is one thing to voice out, it is another thing to harm others. Freedom of speech should be done without causing harm to others,” the student said.

The Star has reached out to UM for comments.

Source: TheStar