PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) must take immediate action against hackers, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

"Someone hacked my Telegram and Signal accounts on Monday (Aug 8).

"In fact, I have directed and reported this to the MCMC so that they are more proactive in such matters and take action once a report is made," he told reporters when met outside Dewan Negara on Tuesday (Aug 9).

He advised all social media users to be more alert and cautious when using such apps.

"They (hackers) use all sorts of ways to trap us into whatever they are doing.

"So as users, including myself and others, don't be influenced by whatever we receive (messages)," he said.

He added that those who have been hacked should report directly to the MCMC so that immediate action can be taken.

"Don't dilly-dally, as there is worry that the hackers will use the identity (stolen) to cheat others and so forth," he said.

On Monday, Ismail Sabri posted a tweet at 4.34pm to say that his Telegram account had been hacked.

He urged the public to ignore messages sent from the account and to report the issue to the authorities.

It’s unclear how the account was hacked.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO), in a statement on Tuesday, confirmed that the Prime Minister had lodged reports with the MCMC and police over the hacking incident.

The PMO stated that it believed the accounts were used for fraudulent criminal activities and advised those who received messages from the accounts concerned to ignore them and report to the authorities.

"Any individual who receives a message from the accounts should ignore it as it is a fake message from an individual impersonating as the Prime Minister.

"Anyone who has fallen victim of financial and other fraud, should lodge a report immediately to PDRM (police) and SKMM (MCMC)," according to the statement.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah also said that his Telegram account was hacked on Monday night by irresponsible parties several hours after the personal Telegram account of the Prime Minister was hit.

Saifuddin, in announcing the matter via a Twitter post, said the party which hacked his account had also abused his name and picture through the application.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/08/09/pm-mcmc-must-take-immediate-action-against-hackers