Cyber intruders have been attempting to crack into malaysiakini 's security system through its website since yesterday.

The website's server manager, Low Wai Sing, said today he was alerted by malaysiakini 's hosting service provider of 'unnatural' traffic patterns within the system.

"Malaysiakini's traffic for the past two days has been unusual and I suspected that the server was being held up," he said.

Low added that he then alerted malaysiakini 's web security adviser, Dinesh Nair, who has since initiated counter-programmes in an attempt to identify the machines which are being used to crack the system.

"It is possible to identify the computers which are making the hacking attempts although this process will take some time," said Nair.

Not compromised

He noted there was no need for measures to stop the intrusion attempts as malaysiakini 's website had not been broken into as yet.

"There have been attempts to break through the website's security but no compromise has taken place so far," Nair said.

In February, malaysiakini 's polling system was affected after a university student in Canada hacked into the poll mechanism and caused it to malfunction through a computer code that generated an abnormally high number of votes.

The student had used a computer in the University of British Columbia's Physics and Astronomy department to run a code which automatically cast as many as 10 votes a second for the 'Don't know' option in one of malaysiakini 's weekly polls.

He was later apprehended by the university's authorities after being alerted by malaysiakini .