[UPDATE 19/2/2024 1429] Go To-U said that it didn’t find any evidence of security breaches on its systems, despite the claims made by R00TK1T.
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The international hacker group R00TK1T has resumed its cyberattack on Malaysia just one day after putting a halt to the campaign. Since then, the group has hit several targets with among latest one being the GO TO-U (GTU) EV charging platform that TNB’s subsidiary, TNBX, uses.
The hacker group may have access to the GO TO-U backend system
This is based on our analysis of the R00TK1T’s announcement inside its Telegram channel. While the group seemingly have claimed that it is attacking the country’s entire EV charging infrastructure, the screenshots attached to the announcement came from what we believe is the GTU’s backend interface.
One of the screenshots that R00TK1T has included in its announcement showed a map of Peninsular Malaysia with several pinned locations. The icon that is used on these pinned locations is identical to what GTU used for its app although we couldn’t replicate the exact view on our phone.
TNB Electron and other TNBX chargers might be under threat
As for the two other screenshots, we believe they are referring to the DC fast charger located at the Hyundai showroom in Sime Darby Motors (SDM) City Ara Damansara which runs on the GTU.
Interestingly enough, the label inside the screenshot said “ABB Fast hyundaiara01” which is rather odd as the DC fast charger that was installed at that location was not made by ABB but instead, came from Exicom. We also noticed that the location on the top part of these two screenshots is pointing to Alor Gajah, Melaka which is likely a reference to the TNB Electron DC fast charger at the R&R Ayer Keroh (Northbound).
Meanwhile, it is unclear whether R00TK1T have gained access to the global GTU ecosystem or is just limited to Malaysia. According to TNBX’s website, there are currently 3 active TNB Electron DC fast chargers throughout Peninsular Malaysia in addition to 13 TNBX DC fast charging points at various Auto Bavaria BMW, Hyundai, BYD, Jaguar Land Rover, and Sime Darby Auto Selection showrooms.
We are now reaching out to several related parties including GTU and its Malaysian partner, Roda Emas Industries (REISB) as well as TNB, TNBX, and Energy Commission (ST) for their take on this matter. Similarly, we are also contacting Kineta, the subsidiary of Sime Darby that deployed the chargers at Sime Darby Motors-affiliated showrooms.
