KUALA LUMPUR – MySejahtera users have complained in recent days about receiving spam messages containing one-time-passwords (OTP) they never requested for and prank emails scaring them into thinking they had contracted Covid-19.
Local journalist @HareshDeol, who’s also the Deputy President of the National Press Club of Malaysia, uploaded a collage of screenshots on Twitter showing the sheer number of Malaysians facing the same issue.
Others too received the same message
— Haresh Deol ???????? (@HareshDeol) October 19, 2021
cc: @DrAdhamBaba @my_sejahtera pic.twitter.com/Df49wqMrU4
And if this wasn’t enough, users are now facing a new kind of harassment – emails containing a picture of singer Rick Astley from his smash hit “Never Gonna Give You Up” video.
KKM: Database remains secure
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has since released an official statement yesterday (Oct 20), confirming that the issue was due to the misuse of the application’s API (Application Program Interface) to blast spam messages to users.
An API refers to the coding platform that allows two software programmes to communicate with each other.
Siasatan KKM mengesahkan penghantaran emel dan SMS palsu kepada pengguna MySejahtera bukan disebabkan kebocoran pada pangkalan data MySejahtera.
— KKMalaysia???????? (@KKMPutrajaya) October 20, 2021
Pasukan MySejahtera telah meningkatkan lagi tahap keselamatan aplikasi dan laman sesawang MySejahtera bagi mengelak kejadian berulang. pic.twitter.com/LFAnsMwAvd
However, they assured that the database remains safe and no personal data was leaked after conducting an internal investigation.
The MySejahtera team has also responded, saying that they have disabled the API’s end points allowing the app to send out OTPs on its behalf.
“Certainly didn’t let me down”
As for users getting Rickrolled via email, neither the MOH nor the MySejahtera team have responded to the issue at the time of writing.
On Twitter, netizens were amused by the usage of the vintage tune, with one commenting, “It certainly didn’t let me down”.
Did you receive such emails and messages as well? Share with us in the comments!
Cover Images via AppleAppStore and Twitter/@fahmi_fadzil
Author: Grace Choong
Proofreader: Sarah Yeoh
