Trojan Horse attacks not rampant in M'sia
10th May 2004 (The Sun)
By Maria J. Dass

PETALING JAYA: The attacks of the Trojan Horse virus and spy-wares which tap into computers to obtain vital information are not rampant in Malaysia.

National ICT Security and Emergency Response Centre (Niser) director Lt-Col Husin Jazri said there are not many reported cases in Malaysia and even if there are attacks, the incidence is low, and Niser has not received many reports. He, however, did say the low level of awareness among consumers resulted in many not coming forward to report it.

"It could be because of the low intensity of the attacks and the victims' unwillingness to go through the hassle to report and bring offenders to book," he told theSun.

"In cases where large corporations are affected, the matter may have been resolved amicably between the parties concerned as large entities usually can do without the bad publicity," he said.

Husin was speaking in the Malaysian context in relation to an online fraud involving a Vietnamese engineering student in Singapore, the first in the republic under the Computer Misuse Act, where he used a Trojan Horse programme to obtain the passwords of his friends - including a Malaysian - to tap into their bank accounts and steal money.

Husin said Malaysia has a host of cyber laws to book cyber criminals like the Computer Crime Act 1987 , Digital Signature Act and the Computer antlMultimedia Act. "However these have not been tried and tested much due to the small number of cases in the country so far," said Husin.

The Trojan Horse according to webopaedia.com is a "destructive program that masquerades as a benign application" .

The term comes from Homer's Iliad, ill which the Greeks give a giant wooden horse to their foes, the Trojans, ostensibly as a peace offering.

But after the Trojans drag the horse inside their city; Greek soldiers sneak out of the horse's hollow belly and open the city gates, allowing their compatriots to pour in and capture Troy.

Slow connections and frequent pop ups are among signs that this virus or spy-wares which observe information such as credit card numbers, pin numbers, e-mails are affecting your computer.