The head of Indonesia’s state Cyber and Crypto agency (BSSSN). Hinsa Siburian, confirmed Monday that the National Data Center (PDN) of the Ministry of Communication and Information in Indonesia was disrupted by a ransomware attack on June 20, local media reported.
According to Siburian, the ransomware used is the kind of cyber attack that infects a server and encrypts all the data stored on it. This is followed by the victim, here the Indonesian government, being blackmailed in exchange for the key to unlock the data. The hackers are now asking, through the use of the dark web, for $8 million (131.2 Rupiah), which the government is not currently willing to pay.
The joint forces of the Ministry of Communication and Information, the BSSSN, and local police are working to investigate the attack. The team simultaneously tried to overcome the impact of the cyberattack as well as recover from the public service disruption caused by the ransomware attack.
According to a Cyber Security observer, Alfons Tanujaya who made comments via the national newspaper Kompas, the current cyber attack shows Indonesia’s poor digital management. He also claimed that the government let the institutions fall behind by not properly digitizing them and criticized the government for not having any ministers or heads within agencies who are professionals in the field of information technology or cyber security.
The Indonesian government temporarily transferred all activities related to immigration to the Amazon Web Service (AWS) as the system in PDN is still disrupted.
Cyber attacks on government entities have become more common, affecting a range of countries. The UK recently confirmed that a cybersecurity incident had taken place involving the UK Armed Forces payment network. New Zealand’s parliament was targeted by a cyber attack. And the Netherlands experienced a cyber attack on its political parties during elections for the European Parliament.
