TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno said the country needed a special cyber agency to tackle cybercrime that posed a threat to state security.
Tedjo said there had been a shift in global security issues from wars between countries to cyber wars. “So, we need some kind of a national cyber agency,” said Tedjo on Wednesday.
He said a national cyber agency was also called for as the nation utilized electronic devices to run the government, such as the e-government system. He added that besides state security, cyber attacks also targeted the financial system, such as the capital market and public transportation.
According to Tedjo, Indonesia needs to learn from past cyber attacks that managed to paralyze a string of major countries, such as the hacking of United States Central Command in 2008. The Operation Aurora cyber attacks also crippled the system of tech giants, including Google in 2009.
Tedjo said this cyber agency would work in coordinated and integrated means as the handling of cyber threats had been carried out separately and partially. He added that this agency must stay faithful to democratic values and the Pancasila ideology.
Separately, National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Marciano Norman seconded Tedjo's statement, saying the country was in need of a national cyber agency.
Marciano said Indonesia’s cybersecurity was already sufficient, but its defense needed improvement. He added that cyber attacks often targeted government websites and hampered the government in running its administration.
FAIZ NASHRILLAH
