Cyber-Attack Targets Drua Official

A series of scam emails sent earlier this week using the name of Fiji Drua general manager Commercial, Shane Hussein, have been confirmed as the result of a cyber-attack on his personal email account.

Mr Hussein said he first became aware of the breach when colleagues, contacts and members of the media phoned him about an email containing a suspicious, non-working link.

“That was when I realized my email had been hacked,” he said.

An internal investigation found that several attempts had been made to access his account before the hackers eventually succeeded.

“There’s a lot of learning here for me personally and for our organisation,” he said. “You can imagine, cyber security just went up a whole lot after that incident.”

He apologized to those who received the fraudulent emails, saying they were not sent by him.

Locked out of his own account count and boost security.”

He warned that when people think their email is “just not working”, it may actually be a sign that their account has been compromised, and messages are being diverted.

‘It felt like i was robbed’ Mr Hussein said the breach left him feeling violated.

“It feels like you’re violated. It feels like you’ve been robbed,” he said.

“People rely on your name and credibility. Someone was pretending to be me and sending scam links to dupe people and potentially scam money.

It’s a horrible thing to do.”

The hackers changed his account passwords, locking him out of his own email.

“I lost access to my email account in the scam,” Mr Hussein said.

“It blocked me out for a while. I had to go through administrator access to reclaim the account and boost security".

Cyber threat growing in Fiji

He said most scammers targeting Fiji are based overseas, and that the threat is increasing.

“This will not be the end of it,” he said. “Scammers are out there. Please keep updating and changing your passwords and invest in proper cyber security systems.”

He urged both individuals and organizations to take cyber security seriously and treat it as a shared responsibility.

FACT CHECK

Claim

Scam emails sent earlier this week using the name of Fiji Drua general manager Commercial, Shane Hussein, were legitimate communications from him.

Verdict: False

What Happened:

• Mr Hussein confirmed that his personal email account was hacked in a cyber-attack.
• The fraudulent emails contained a suspicious, non-working link and were not sent by him.
• Hackers changed his account passwords, locking him out temporarily. He regained access through administrator intervention and strengthened security measures.

Key Details:

• Mr Hussein first learned of the breach after colleagues and media contacts alerted him.
• An internal investigation revealed multiple attempts to access his account before the hackers succeeded.
• He described the experience as feeling “violated” and “robbed,” emphasizing the damage to his credibility.

How to stay safe:

• Update and change passwords regularly.
• Activate two-factor authentication (2FA).
• Do not click on suspicious links.
• Report unusual email activity immediately.
• Check with the sender directly if an email looks odd

Feedback: talei.roko@fijisun.com.fj