INDONESIAN CYBER AGENCY TO CURB RAMPANT CYBER ATTACKS by Fardah

Jakarta, June 9, 2016 (Antara) - Lacking adequate cyber security, Indonesia is in a state of emergency following increasing incidents of cyber attacks mostly from within the country.

          Indonesia is ranked second among countries where cyber attacks are launched and is the most prone to them, according to the office of the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.

          Last year, the country had witnessed a fourfold increase in cybercrimes from 2014. 
    Cyber attacks in Indonesia rose 33 percent in 2015 compared to the previous year, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut B. Pandjaitan stated recently.

         In 2013, the quarterly State of the Internet Report by Akamai Technologies revealed that Indonesia had seen a massive increase in the number of cybercrimes and hacking attacks, so much so that Indonesia had pushed China out of the top spot for the Q2 2013 period.

         Prevalence of cybercrimes and hacking in Indonesia was partially attributed to its lack of laws governing such crimes, the report said.

         Meanwhile, Minister Pandjaitan believes that the country is in dire need of an agency that can coordinate on matters related to cyber defense.

         Therefore, the government plans to set up a national cyber agency that will soon function as a coordinator for the country's cyber security.

         One of the agency's tasks would be to prepare a Bill on cyber security.

         The agency would be formed based on a presidential decree and have a coordinating function, Air Vice Marshal Agus Ruchyan Barnas, chairman of the National Cyber Information Security and Resilience Desk of the Coordinating Ministry of Political, Legal and Security Affairs, said recently.

         The agency would act as a coordinator for synergy, execution, and synchronization on everything related to cyber issues, without overstepping on the authority of other relevant institutions, he said.

         The desk has identified six cyber security categories.

         The first category is Cyber Defense under the authority of the defense ministry and the defense forces based on the law on defense and the government regulation on State Territorial Spatial in their role as state defense.

         The second category is Cyber Crime under the authority of the National Police and the Attorney General¿s Office in their role in maintaining community and public orders.

         The third category is Cyber Intelligence under the authority of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the State Encryption Institution (Lemsaneg) in the roles such as early detection, early warning, and information security.

         The fourth category is Cyber Security, which is under the authority of the communication and informatics ministry and the home affairs ministry in their roles and public service and demographic administration providers.

         The fifth category is Cyber Resilience, which is under the authority of the political, legal and security affairs and the National Resilience Council (Wantanas) in coordination, synchronization, control, and defense roles. 
The sixth category is Cyber Diplomacy, which is under the foreign ministry in its diplomatic role function.

         Discussions on the plan to form the agency was held on January 6, 2015, by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and the cabinet secretary, the then Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, and Communication and Informatics Minister Rudiantara.

         Cyber is a new space so it is normal if many institutions feel that they have the authority over the space and want to be a leading sector, according to him.

         The BCN will not overlap with the authorities of other existing institutions, as it will have authorities not granted to any other institution.

         "In line with a recommendation of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas), the BCN should become a regulator in managing, controlling, and coordinating cyber activities in Indonesia," he affirmed.

         The Lemhannas had suggested the formation of BCN to the president through its study titled "Anticipation of Cyber Crime To Strengthen Security and Public Order for National Resilience," on August 19, 2014.

         While conducting its coordinating tasks, the agency will not require a huge presence of personnel, he revealed.

         Relevant institutions will be accountable for the technical operations and implementation, he noted.

         Indonesia is now in a state of cyber attack emergency due to the absence of a reliable instrument to offer protection against cyber attacks, he remarked.

         Barnas expressed optimism that BCN would become a body that will boost cyber alertness and resilience in the country.

         The vice marshal also believes that public awareness could minimize cyber threats and attacks, strengthen information resilience, and encourage information and knowledge sharing by establishing collaboration among various elements of the cyber sector, including academicians, and experts, as well as gray and white hackers. 
  Last year, the Jakarta Metropolitan police revealed that more and more international crime syndicates are using Indonesia as one of their bases for carrying out cybercrimes.

        "Indonesia is no longer a destination for transnational crimes, but has slowly transformed into a hub for the operations of international crime syndicates," the Director of General Crime Investigation for the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Command, Senior Commissioner Krishna Murti, stated on Aug. 20, 2015.

        He said several crime syndicates had entered Indonesia, organized their activities, rented places, and carried out criminal acts.

        "The criminals are recruited from China, and the main players are members of Yakuza, Japan," he revealed.

         Murti drew this conclusion following a number of raids conducted on mostly young Chinese nationals, who were illegally residing in luxurious houses in Jakarta and were found to be equipped with various Internet-based and phone equipment.

        On Aug. 20, 2015, for example, the Jakarta Metro Jaya Police detained 91 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals for allegedly committing transnational cybercrimes from Jakarta.

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(T.F001/A/F. Assegaf/F. Assegaf) 09-06-2016 13:02:46