CYBERSECURITY EXPERTS IN HIGH DEMAND by Fardah

Jakarta, Oct 3, 2017 (Antara) - Following rapid technological advancements, digital communication has become an intrinsic part of the people's lives.

        Billions of people are now connected to the internet following a major transformation in the digital world that has the potential to affect everyone and every business.

        The internet, however, is not free from cyber threats, such a malware, phishing, Denial-of-Service Attacks, Malvertising, and compromised passwords.

        A cyber attack is usually intended to inflict damage or expropriate information from an individual, organization, or public entity for the purpose of theft of payment card data, customer details, company secrets or intellectual property, unauthorized access to networks, compromised official records or financial and/or reputational damage.

        Unfortunately, cybersecurity mechanisms in place are unable to handle cyber threats that are growing at an alarming level. Currently, cybersecurity experts are in high demand and are being offered handsome salaries and great promotion prospects. 
   According to data compiled by Burning Glass, postings for cybersecurity jobs grew by 74 percent during the period between 2007 and 2013, two times faster than other positions in the information and technology sector. 
   Cybersecurity comprises technologies, processes, and measures that are designed to protect systems, networks, and data from cybercrimes.

        Effective cybersecurity reduces the risks of cyber attacks and protects entities, organizations, and individuals from the deliberate exploitation of systems, networks, and technologies.

        In Indonesia, the number of internet users reaches some 132 million. Indonesia is viewed as having the potential to develop reliable cybersecurity mechanisms.

        In June 2017, President Joko Widodo inaugurated a national cyber agency called National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN), which is expected to become operational soon. 
   BSSN was launched following a global ransomware attack by the WannaCry virus, which affected more than 150 countries around the world, including Indonesia, in May this year.

        Efforts to establish the agency, however, began in 2015, according to Indonesia's Communication and Informatics Minister Rudiantara.

        On Sept 22, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Wiranto reported to President Joko Widodo on the results of his participation in the Singapore International Cyber Week 2017 recently.

        Given the large number of internet users in the country, cybersecurity is a major issue here, according to the minister.

        Several government institutions, such as the National Intelligence Agency, Defense Ministry, the Headquarters of the Indonesian Defense Forces, and National Police, have respectively had an independent cybersecurity unit.

        BSSN, which will function under the coordination of Wiranto's office, is expected to serve as an umbrella for all cybersecurity units to prevent overlapping and to strengthen coordination.

        Meanwhile, Indonesia needs some 10 thousand cybersecurity experts to deal with international cybersecurity threats that tend to increase.

        "It could not be postponed; we are heading there. Cybersecurity is the third priority in the state's defense efforts after radicalism in addition to terrorism and drugs," Major General Hartind Asrin, head of the education and training department of the Defense Ministry, noted in a press statement, on Sept 27.

        Indonesia should optimize its existing human resources to recruit 10 thousand cybersecurity experts, Asrin stated while attending "Cyber Jawara (Champion)" national hacker competition held in Kuta, Bali, on Sept 26-29, 2017.

        "This Cyber Jawara national hacker competition is one such platform to find potential talent in Indonesia's younger generation. We, in the Defense Ministry, also focus on preparing an alert team to fight cyber threats," he noted.

        The world needs at least one million cybersecurity experts to fight cybercrimes and threats in the cyber world, according to Dr Rudi Lumanto, chairman of the Indonesia Security Incident Response Team on Internet Infrastructure or the Monitoring Team on Cyber Attack Threats.

        Currently, Indonesia has only some hundreds to a thousand internationally certified cybersecurity experts, he said.

        "We need to educate more and improve the capabilities of our human resources," he noted.

        The competition was held to coincide with an international seminar and workshops themed "CodeBali 2017."
  Prof Andrew Martin from Oxford University was the key speaker at the seminar's opening ceremony held on Wednesday.

        Prof Martin's recent research has focused on the technologies of Trusted Computing and exploring ways in which they can be applied in large-scale distributed systems, particularly cloud computing, mobile devices, and Internet of Things (IoT).

        The workshop covers digital forensics, malware analysis, creating and managing a computer security incident response team, and IoT penetration testing, among other things. 
  This year, 20 teams, which had entered the final after clearing a nationwide online test, participated in the national competition.

        The Bandung Institute of Technology's JAV team emerged as the winner in the competition.

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(T.F001/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 03-10-2017