Indonesia has 140 million active internet users. Indeed, the digital era has created a vast market of economic opportunities for the rapidly developing third world country. With this exponential digital expansion comes the parallel need of cyber security to adapt alongside with it. The new tech-based setting has made its citizens and institutions prone to a wide variety of cyber crime.
Indonesia: An Apparent Haven for Cyber Crime
A recent 2020 example includes a case where 3 individuals were arrested recently for disseminating malware which targets e-commerce websites. The anti-hacking task force, under the name Operation Night Fury, coordinating with Interpol, had put a stop to the Indonesian based operation that allegedly compromised the systems of hundreds of websites.
Furthermore, Indonesia had the second highest rate of Cybercrime worldwide (Second to Japan), according to a 2017 report. E-commerce fraud and distributing false political content is currently the most prevalent examples of this type of offence. In spite of the country’s high ranking, it is estimated that a large number of such cyber-attacks are not recorded.
During 2019, Indonesia’s authority on Cyber Crime, Dittipidsiber, had detailed more than 3300 cases of malicious hacking in Jakarta. Putting this into perspective, 90 million cases of cyber-attacks happened throughout the country, (an estimation made by Deputy Chief Commissioner Syafruddin), with 205 million cases in 2017, and 232 million cases in 2018. Judging by the numbers alone, the situation is getting worse on a yearly basis.
Also Read: Defining the Role of Artificial Intelligence
Indonesia’s Anti-Hacking Measures: Cyber Patrol sites, and Biometrics Security Systems
Local authorities have established a ‘Cyber Patrol’ site in August of 2019. This way, regular citizens could report any instances of online criminal activity to the appropriate authorities. This kind of organic safeguard has proven to be an effective strategy in coordinating the various efforts of different police units within Jakarta, as online-based crime is ‘spread out’, with cybercriminals often committing crimes in different parts of the city.
Regardless, this year, DDos methods of cyber infiltration (‘Distributed denial of service’ attacks) will increase. Dr. Pratama Persadha of the CISSReC, predicted an increased amount of cyber-attacks during 2019. This relates to specific attacks targeting the progressively popular Biometrics Security Systems. According to Mr. Persadha, Biometrics Security Systems possess “quite dangerous vulnerabilities.”
In regards to the apparent reliability (Or lack thereof) of Biometric security systems, a data leak could be quite devastating for the country. Foreign entities hacking government institutions presents a serious problem. This is especially dangerous as it could expose crucial government information. Additionally, hackers may gain access to the vast amounts of sensitive information stockpiled within the system.
Also Read: Ransomware Attacks Are Becoming An Ever-Present Threat
Services offered by Logique Digital Indonesia
To improve your company’s website security and application systems, Logique Digital Indonesia is offering penetration testing services. We have an IT security team to help ensure that your website and applications don’t have security holes. Please contact us in order to improve your application or website’s cybersecurity.
