We Hack, Therefore We Are

In the world of hacking, Apep (14), not his real name, has found his purpose. The quiet teenager founded and now chairs a hacking group called Evoush666Crew made up of six members. This year, the group has hacked around 40 government websites.

In contrast to his activeness in the hacking world, Apep feels that he has no life in the real world. The teenager finds it difficult to make friends. Apep does not like school and does not feel comfortable at home. Almost every day he hears his parents fighting.

On the international hacker forum Zone-H.org, Apep goes by the name Kakegurai. He has only been active on the forum since early this year. According to documentation on Zone-H.org, the sites that have been victims of his hacking include a number of administration websites in East Nusa Tenggara.

Also read:

> Hacking Threat is not yet Over

> Cyber Agency Hacking Erodes Public Trust

The hacking technique Apep uses is defacement, where the visual appearance of a website or web page is changed. Apep tries to get “uang pulsa” (small amount of money to buy internet data) from his hacking skills. He charges his client a fee of Rp 50,000 (US$3.52) to Rp 100,000 for repairs. Of course, after he has hacked them first.

Apep said that the cybersecurity of local administration websites in Indonesia was weak. Three hours is the longest time he has needed to hack a site with a “go.id” domain in regional areas. He has also tried to hack the websites of the United States Government but has never been successful. "The security of our government websites is still four out of 10," he said.

With more experience, Rami (20) studied for years before he was finally proficient at hacking government websites. He has been learning to hack since the third grade of elementary school.

KOMPAS/ANDY RIZA HIDAYAT

Illustration: A hacker broke into a government website with a weak security system at the end of September 2021. Their motivations were varied, some wanted to show their abilities.

The young man who uses the name Mr. RM19 on Zone-H.org has been active on the forum since 2019. There he is recorded to have hacked 3,054 sites, 132 of which were government sites with the “go.id” domain.

According to him, hacking is a source of side income. The hacking model used now tends to be as a “hactivist” (a combination of the words “hack” and “activist”) or activist hackers. The hactivists work to protest against the government. On the government websites that he has hacked, Rami leaves criticism or a protest against certain government policies.

Potency

The Skena (specific world) of Indonesian hackers is fairly wide. In addition to using international forums, on domestic forums like Zone-Xsec.com, for example, dozens of hackers and hacking teams compete for the top ranking.

Indonesia also has a hacker who is respected internationally, named HMei7. He is in the world's top 10 for hackers using defacement techniques.

His figure is mysterious, even among hackers. No one knows his identity and it has been said that he can attend hacker meetings without anyone knowing. According to Zone-H.org records, HMei7 has hacked 294,497 sites, 178 of which Indonesian government sites, over the last six years.

Also read:

> Audit and Strengthen Cybersecurity

The rise of domestic hacking skills can be seen as a threat, but can also be viewed as potential to improve national cybersecurity. Of course, the law must take strict action against hacking that is criminal in nature, such as data theft and the takeover of a website.

However, when given the opportunity, hackers can also lead to good outcomes. This includes finding the vulnerability of a site or patching that vulnerability. This practice is common and legal for international information technology companies.

Yet so far, the policies of the Indonesian government have not provided room for this. The Information and Electronic Transactions Law (ITE) stipulates that all forms and motives of hacking is a violation of the law, as it is undeniable that hackers have entered into areas that do not belong to them.

KOMPAS/IRENE SARWINDANINGRUM

Head of the Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Division of the Malang Regency Information and Communication Service, Tri Darmawan Sambodho shows his conversation with the Malang Regency population data seller, in his office, Thursday (30/9/2021). Thousands of Malang Regency residents' data were offered in data sales forums after previously being hacked on Malang Regency population sites.

A hacker who reports a site's vulnerability can be charged with criminal offence. "Why does the bureaucracy see expertise in hacking in such a negative way? Actually, if we were really given a platform, it would be very useful,” said the founder of the Surabaya Black Hat Community, Rama (24), in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday (29/9/2021).

The hacker community could become Indonesian troops to improve national cybersecurity. Moreover, Indonesia currently lacks cybersecurity experts. They could also be given space to become bug bounty hunters, which are common overseas. Many hackers feel the bitterness of dealing with the authorities because of reporting the weakness of a site.

Together with his best friend, Katon Primadi, Rama is now realizing their dream of establishing a school for underprivileged children. They want to accommodate young people's interest in the development of information technology. “We will revive our community in a positive direction. As far as I know, many [teenagers] have no access to develop their skill, they have to learn on their own,” said Rama.

Also read:

> Agency Data Vulnerable to Hacking

> Hackers Forge Contact-Tracing App

Rama is now establishing the start-up Kipa Indonesia, a management company for small entrepreneurs. They are also members of the BRH Law Firm community in Malang to anticipate legal issues related to their current activities.

In the book Cyber Wars, former technology editor of The Guardian Charles Arthur, warns that hacking is the new weapon of wars between nations. Hacking can destabilize the economy and politics of a region. Presently, however, the government has nohacking

capacity to deal even with the desires of teenagers who want recognition of their existence, let alone to face cyber wars. In the midst of all this, we as citizens are vulnerable to becoming victims.

(IRENE SARWINDANINGRUM/ INSAN ALFAJRI/DHANANG DAVID ARITONANG/ ANDY RIZA HIDAYAT)