AFP involved in shutdown of alleged myGov phishing kit supplier

A joint operation by Australian, Malaysian and US authorities has led to eight arrests over alleged “phishing kits” that could be used to target online government services sites, including myGov.

The Australian Federal Police said it supplied intelligence on the alleged operation and contributed to the shutdown of server infrastructure that hosted the kits.

Eight people were arrested by Malaysian authorities.

Authorities allege that the kits “contained phishing templates and scripts replicating government websites in Malaysia, Australia and the United States, and were being sold to cybercriminals to allow them to send phishing attacks and obtain victims’ credentials.”

The hosting was being run out of a Malaysia-based technology park, which was raided, and hardware seized.

Authorities allege one of the servers “held more than 16 virtual machines that ran a variety of operating systems and services to support the hosting service.”

“Investigators [also] seized more than 60 terabytes of data across the police activity, including three servers and one network storage device,” the AFP said in a statement.

Bukit Aman commercial crime investigation department director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said that international authorities “should continue to synergise our resources in facing current and future challenges of ICT-driven technologies.”

“The recent operations involving the three agencies to bust an online syndicate was a manifestation of this.”

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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