Hacking is a Serious Issue

KOMPAS/SUPRIYANTO

Supriyanto

Covid-19 has brought with it rapid changes in society. Internet penetration is the motor of this change. As the number of internet users increases, so does the need for protection.

According to Hootsuite in "Digital 2021", there were 202.6 million internet users in Indonesia in early 2021, accounting for 73.7 percent of the population. In 2002, there were only 4.1 million internet users in Indonesia. (Kompas, 24 January 2002)

With such a massive number of internet users in Indonesia, protection is needed, particularly as our lives are increasingly dependent on the internet, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Hacking is a serious issue. Last week, hackers attacked not only personal social media accounts, but also allegedly the internal network of 10 ministries/agencies. Based on information from the Record, the hackers were from China and targeted Southeast Asian countries.

Globally, hacking is definitely nothing new. A decade ago, for example, Google reported a hacking attack from a particular location allegedly in China. The Chinese government, through the People\'s Daily newspaper, has denied being behind the global cyberattack against 70 government-owned and private websites. Malaysia in 2011 also reported attacks on government websites.

KOMPAS/NIKOLAUS HARBOWO

News about hacking in the internal network of ten ministries/agencies in The Record media. Photo taken Sunday (12/9/2021).

Ten years later, hacking is becoming more and more common and at the same time more difficult to detect. We must be vigilant because crime is no longer as simple as robbery targeting bank vaults. Criminals are now breaking into digital wallets or data.

Hacking with a request for victims to pay ransom, or ransomware, is also predicted to expand. Without preventive measures and decisive action, this ransom demand is believed to be endemic. For the safety of citizens and the national interest, the government must be present in cyberspace. The Constitution has also mandated the protection of the entire nation and the whole territory of Indonesia.

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If the outermost islands with small populations are guarded by the army, the government sites, although their function is minimal, are also ideally guarded by the police. This is not just a matter of sovereignty, but also the security of citizens\' personal data.

We understand that protection always requires a budget. However, as the use of digital information and communication technology grows exponentially, cybersecurity systems must also be built exponentially.

Reallocation of the state budget must be done in order to counter this cyberattack. The reallocation of the state budget is based on a shift of development priorities.

When working from home using internet network facilities is the new normal, road construction funds can be reallocated to cybersecurity. Staff spending on admins, replaced by technology, may be allocated to pay third-party system auditors.

Hacking, again, is a serious issue. We should take it extra seriously.

This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswoko.