Police Investigate Alleged Data Breach Filed by Tokopedia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian National Police (Polri) on Wednesday announced the start of the investigation on the data theft affecting thousands of Tokopedia users. Polri spokesperson Inspector General Argo Yuwono confirmed this today; “Yes, the investigation is ongoing.”

Argo said that a number of potential witness testimonies from the Indonesian e-commerce platform, however, police did not reveal the identities of these witnesses. 

“Some have been asked for clarification. We’ll have to wait for the results to be announced by [the cybercrime investigation unit],” said the police spokesman. 

Tokopedia VP corporate communications, Nuraini Razak, on Sunday evening clarified the report suggesting that 91 million of its users’ personal data had been leaked and are able to be freely downloaded. On that, Tokopedia insists that it is untrue and that the data are still safely guarded and encrypted. 

“We have reported this to the police and reminded people to erase any information that facilitates access to data that are obtained through illegal ways,” said Nuraini in her statement to Tempo on Sunday night. 

On Saturday, July 4, the Communication and Information System Security Research Center (CISSReC) claims to have found a link in a Facebook group that leads to 91 million worth of data on Tokopedia users. They also claim the sensitive data are freely downloadable. 

Tokopedia understands that an irresponsible third party had posted the information illegally on social media and internet forums to access the users' data that were stolen.

The spokesperson asserts that the company continues to be transparent regarding the issue and has coordinated further efforts with the government and stakeholders regarding the data theft.

Read also: Tokopedia Files Police Report over Alleged Data Breach

ANDITA RAHMA | EKO WAHYUDI