Government seeks to collaborate with AFDI to boost cybersecurity


Jakarta (ANTARA)

Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) Minister Budi Arie Setiadi has invited the Indonesian Digital Forensics Association (AFDI) to collaborate with the government to fortify Indonesia's cybersecurity following a recent ransomware attack on the country's national temporary data center.

"If necessary, AFDI can work together with the BSSN (National Cyber and Crypto Agency), Kominfo Ministry, and Polri (National Police) to establish an incident response team consisting of our digital forensics talents," he said in Jakarta on Thursday.

Setiadi emphasized the importance of Indonesia taking notes from other countries on the establishment of such a team. He noted that the United States has formed cyber forensics labs, while Malaysia has set up a cyber security unit.

He then suggested that AFDI assist the government by providing a second opinion on the results of digital forensics, considering that the association is home to talents interested in digital forensics.

According to the minister, sound collaboration between the government and various stakeholders is crucial to gather inputs that can be used to strengthen national cybersecurity.

He further said that the government is currently focusing on efforts to mitigate cyber threats and solidify the resilience of public system services against possible disruptions.

"Matters related to cybercrime have become even more crucial. While Indonesia is witnessing progress in its digital transformation agenda, we will always need to strengthen our cybersecurity," he affirmed.

To that end, the government is seeking an active role from the nation's digital forensics talents in formulating on-point measures to anticipate threats in cyberspace.

The minister said that he considers the capability to carry out digital forensics as instrumental in identifying the causes of cyberattacks.

A ransomware attack on the temporary data center (PDNS 2) last month crippled Indonesia's government, causing data loss, limited public access to information, and slowdowns for affected agencies' online services.

The compromised national data center housed a vast trove of sensitive information, including population data like names, addresses, ID numbers, and family details. Additionally, it stored critical sector-specific information on national health programs and the education curriculum.

The ransomware attack on national data centers has sparked mounting pressure for Minister Setiadi to step down, fueled by a petition in the Change.org.

Despite having demanded 8 million US dollars in exchange for keeping the data safe, the hacking group offered a surprise apology earlier this month and offered to release the keys to the locked and encrypted data for free.

Comments