Here’s Why You May Have Trouble Accessing Websites with .my Domains

Guys, if you tried visiting a Malaysian website with a domain name that ends with a .my, then you most probably have experienced some difficulties just recently! This is because the domain registrar MYNIC Berhad, the sole agent responsible for the domain, confirmed it was suffering from a technical glitch earlier.

Source: twitter

“We are working hard to resolve this issue as soon as possible. More details will be issued from time to time,” it said on Twitter on Saturday (June 16). They clarified that the error had occurred due to some technical issues related to DNS Security Extensions and the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

DNS actually enables computers and devices to find specific websites using addresses that humans can read instead of their specific IP addresses. Without it, users must manually enter the numbers that represent these.

Lowyat.net was one of the earliest portals to report that the Domain Name System (DNS) servers responsible for “.my” domain names seem to have gone offline. “This means that all .my domains will be virtually inaccessible across the World Wide Web,” the technology news portal said.

Source: twitter

Although MYNIC has since apologised, Twitter users complained that MYNIC only reported the problem 10-12 hours after it had happened, and questioned whether MYNIC staff were asleep during the Hari Raya holidays. That’s a really poor response time!

Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said that he is aware of this issue. He confirmed in a statement on Twitter that MYNIC and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) are working hard to solve the problem. He added that he hoped the problem could be rectified quickly and will issue more information after he receives a detailed report later.

Source: the star

MYNIC is an agency under Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia (KKMM) and is regulated by MCMC. They are currently responsible for eight domain name categories, .my, .com.my, .net.my, .org.my, .edu.my, .gov.my and .mil.my. Yes, including your online banking!

Hang tight guys, this isn’t the first time this has happened to the .my domains, though. According to The Star, in the past few years, MyNIC has been hit by similar issues several times, with its own servers being compromised. This allowed hackers to redirect all website access to fake sites!

For the time being, you should be extra careful when accessing any webpage that ends with .my, especially if you are going to enter any sensitive information. 

Also read: Scam Website Uses M’sian Doctor’s Name to Trick People into Buying Beauty Products