Something strange is going down on Bursa Malaysia, and it’s not just your average market volatility.
Several online trading accounts have been compromised and used to manipulate share prices — with Bina Puri, Pos Malaysia, and even some Hong Kong warrants caught in the crossfire. The story, first reported by The Edge, has since been confirmed by Bursa Malaysia and the Securities Commission (SC), who are now working closely with brokers to get to the bottom of it.
Apparently, some investors’ accounts — specifically ones not meant for online trading — were accessed and used for unauthorised trades. These accounts typically require broker intervention, so how were hackers able to bypass that? That’s the million-ringgit question.
A source from within the industry claims the attack originated overseas, based on suspicious IP logs. And rather than individual investors getting phished, it’s suspected that brokerage systems themselves were breached.
Even wilder: this wasn’t the first sign of trouble. A smaller test run may have happened six weeks earlier, which means the hackers were possibly probing for weaknesses before going in for a full-blown raid.
Which Stocks Got Targeted?
The trades weren’t random. The affected counters include:
Bina Puri Holdings Bhd (BPURI) and its Warrant B
Pos Malaysia Bhd (POS)
A handful of Hong Kong structured warrants, especially HSI-CWC4
Things went into overdrive on Thursday afternoon. Bina Puri-Warrant B shot up from 30 sen to 60 sen within 15 minutes — doubling in value before cooling off slightly to 48.5 sen by market close. That’s still a +61.67% spike with over RM10 million in volume traded at the peak.
Meanwhile, Bina Puri’s main stock wasn’t sitting idle either. It surged to 40 sen (+15.9%) at its high and closed at 37.5 sen, with an eye-watering 103.68 million shares traded. Even Pos Malaysia saw a strong rally, closing at 29 sen (+23.4%).
As for the HSI-CWC4 warrant, it clocked in a massive RM19.36 million in trading value — way above the norm for such instruments.
Who’s Behind This?
Some insiders believe the hack may involve profit-sharing arrangements with cybercriminals, where ill-gotten gains are split between the hackers and stock manipulators. This echoes tactics seen in Japan, where compromised brokerage accounts were used to pump and dump penny stocks.
Following the breach, N2N Connect (one of Malaysia’s main direct market access platform providers) reportedly sent an urgent advisory to clients, recommending:
Blocking high-risk IPs
Implementing geo-blocking for foreign traffic
The bigger issue? Who’s responsible for investor losses — and can anything be done to claw back the money?
Some brokers are urging Bursa Malaysia to freeze trades involving the affected counters or even halt the entire market temporarily until a fix is in place. Others are calling for regulators to step in and hold off on releasing sale proceeds pending the investigation.
This breach raises serious concerns about the security of online trading platforms in Malaysia. If brokerage systems themselves are vulnerable, we’ve got a much bigger problem than just phishing scams.
Stay safe out there, and maybe check your trading account activity — just in case.
Source : The Edge Malaysia, NST
