Edition 17: Amateur Hacker Shines Light Over Cybersecurity Issues
Amateur Hacker Shines Light Over Cybersecurity Issues
Source: Forbes
An amateur hacktivist going by the pseudonym “Bjorka” has gained notoriety in Indonesia after a series of high-profile hacks against government institutions such as the Ministry of Communications and Informatics and the General Elections Commission (KPU).
The Presidential Secretariat is the latest government body to have been hacked by Bjorka.
The recent high-profile conflict between Bjorka and the Indonesian government began after the Minister of Communications and Informatics pleaded with hackers to stop hacking Indonesia.
Not only was the comment ridiculed by Indonesian netizens, Bjorka also responded by stating that the government should “stop being an idiot”.
Spanning over a year, the leaks have not only exposed the personal social security data of millions of Indonesians, but also the private data and communications of senior government officials and prominent political figures.
But government officials initially responded to the hacking cases with denial and victim-blaming.
Then, the Coordinating Minister of Politics, Law, and Security Affairs announced the formation of a data protection task force to take the role of protecting data from hacking attempts. Several intelligence agencies have also begun to track down the whereabouts of Bjorka, who claims to be based in Warsaw, Poland.
The chase culminated in the capture of a 21 year old beverage seller from Madiun, who doesn’t even possess a laptop or a computer. After extensive interrogation, he was named a suspect for allegedly providing the Telegram channel for Bjorka.
But the main mastermind of the operation still remains at large, communicating via Telegram and a popular English-language hacker forum while taunting the government for making no significant progress in his arrest.
Many are calling for the ratification of the long awaited Personal Data Protection Bill (RUU PDP), but RUU PDP only holds accountable data breaches in the private sector and not on governmental institutions.
Many also take issue with the supposedly independent authority that oversees the implementation of RUU PDP being under the President instead of being truly independent, which may hinder the neutrality of the body.
Many observers, both from cybersecurity experts to hackers, have criticized Indonesia’s severe lack of efforts in cybersecurity, both in the public and private sector. Many attribute this to a lack of skills, as according to Fortinet Indonesia many existing cybersecurity professionals possess outdated knowledge from the 90s.
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What Is Up, Indonesia?
🌎 Politics & International Relations
Papua Governor Named as Corruption Suspect: The Corruption Eradication Commission is investigating the Governor of Papua Lukas Enembe after his financial transactions showed signs of an overly lavish lifestyle, spending millions of Singaporean dollars at a casino and on luxury watches.
Government to Review Minimum Wage After Protests Over Fuel Price Hike: Indonesia will review minimum wage and other labor regulations after trade unions staged nation-wide protests against a recent hike in petrol prices.
Jokowi Could Run for Vice President in Indonesia’s 2024 Election: Jokowi could extend his time in government by running for the number two post in the 2024 presidential elections if he gets nominated, Kompas reported, citing a senior official from PDIP.
📈 Economics, Business & Technology
Inflation Forecasted at 1.09% This September: Bank Indonesia (BI) predicted that the inflation in September 2022 will reach 1.09 percent based on the Price Monitoring Survey conducted in the third week of September 2022.
Shopee to Fire 3% of Staff: In an effort to curb ballooning losses and regain the trust of investors, the Singapore-based company will cut off local employees in its cash-burning e-commerce arm.
Google at Risk of Regulatory Issues: Indonesian antitrust regulators are investigating Google for the suspicion of monopoly and dominant position discrimination, seeking fines of almost $1.67m for it’s role to force it’s payment processor on Google Play which accounts for 93% of the Indonesian app market.
🌳 Science, Environment & Health
New Mandate Says Government Vehicles Must Now be EVs: The President has mandated the use of electric vehicles (EVs) for all government officials across the country in a move to expedite the country’s EV industry, but experts say the public may not follow suit.
Government Gives Amnesty to Businesses Operating Illegally Inside Forest Areas: 75 mining and palm oil cultivation companies who operated in forest areas without proper permits have avoided criminal action, instead paying billions of rupiah in fines.
What We're Reading
Concerns have been raised by many amidst civil society and academia on the declining quality of Indonesian democracy. Perhaps this is part of a regional trend, with countries across Southeast Asia experiencing the erosion of democratic institutions and coups across the past few years. How do the prospects for democracy across our region look in the coming years?
Why Democracy in Southeast Asia Will Worsen in 2023: “There are potential bright spots—perhaps the pro-democracy opposition will win in Thailand and their victory will be respected, or perhaps there will be real progress in Myanmar—but overall, the outlook is grim.” - Josha Kurlantzick, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
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