The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) found itself being unwittingly drawn into the tensions between Indonesia and Malaysia after its website was hacked - twice in one week.

Apart from vulgarities and threats against Malaysia, the words Indonesia Merdeka (Indonesia Independent) was also found on the site, which is among a string of government-related websites hacked since a border row erupted between the two countries.

Contacted today, Suhakam commissioner Hamdan Adnan was puzzled as to why the commission's site had been subjected to a double-defacement

"It's very strange. We've always been a very open organisation and there is no need to hack our site. We did not expect there to be a repeat after the first hack and thought it was just an act by some mischievous parties," he said.

Suhakam has now however taken the matter more seriously and have begun to tighten their site's security.

"We've contacted our hosts and have instructed them to do the necessary to ensure this doesn't reoccur," said Hamdan, adding that their hosts have been taken to task for not preventing the intrusion.

Visitors to Suhakam's site earlier today would have also seen a graphic image of a naked woman with vulgarities written on the top and bottom of the screen.

The hackers claimed to be from the '@ulga in#hd team ,#jambihackerlink' hackers team.

Indonesian flag colours

The colour scheme of the defaced site followed similar patterns to other hacked sites, red and white - symbolising the colours of the Indonesian flag.

Suhakam's main page on its website currently reads "under construction".

Hamdan said efforts are being stepped-up to monitor the site for possibilities of further defacements and to ensure data-protection.

In an advisory on its website, MyCert (Malaysian Computer Emergency Response Team) has alerted Malaysians to means of preventing their website from being attacked.

Among the items on the advise list, issued on March 9, the team suggested that 'vulnerabilities' in web-sites be patched regularly with latest software updates. It also suggested the hardening of servers.

According to MyCert, 45 Malaysian websites have been defaced since Jan 1, with the majority occurring over the last few days.

"Most of the defaced sites are left with (messages of) hatred/dissatisfaction against the Malaysian government and its ministers/ministries," read the advisory.

Malaysia and Indonesia have locked horns over oil rights in two disputed blocks in the Sulawesi sea.

Other notable web-sites defaced were those belonging to the Royal Malaysian Customs, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, Public Works Department, Immigration Department and the Perak Sultan.

Beside defacement of web-sites, many online pages are facing difficulty maintaining network stability.

Meanwhile, there have also been reports of Indonesian websites being hacked.