Jokowi: Military Enters 5th Generation of War, Cyber Threats Can Cripple National Defense

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's outgoing President Joko Widodo or Jokowi reminded that the military sector is currently entering the 5th generation of warfare. Jokowi highlighted non-kinetic military actions that could cripple the country's defense.

Speaking at the Prasetya Perwira ceremony at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, July 16, the former governor of Jakarta delivered the message to the 906 military and police officers who were inaugurated this morning.

Jokowi reminded them that science and technology are currently developing very rapidly. Disruption, he said, continues. The Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Society 5.0 had given rise to digitalization, automation, artificial intelligence, which had led to trade wars and inevitable geopolitical tensions.

"In the defense sector, for example, we are in the 5th generation, not only physical warfare, but also non-kinetic military actions, as well as cyber warfare, which can cripple the function of defense security and public services," Jokowi said.

The former mayor of Solo also highlighted climate change and the ongoing energy transition. Also in the field of law enforcement.

"Security order, transnational crime, online gambling, human trafficking, narcotics and illegal drugs, as well as cyber hacking, which has become more and more sophisticated," he said.

Given the current complexity of developments, Jokowi asked the newly appointed officers to grow into figures who could adapt quickly, including studying the latest developments in digital technology and artificial intelligence.

Today, the president inaugurated 417 young officer candidates (capaja) from the Military Academy, 129 capaja from the Indonesian Navy Academy, 113 capaja from the Air Force Academy and 247 capaja from the Police Academy.

Jokowi's message comes amid public criticism in recent weeks over the vulnerability of the National Data Center (PDN). The PDN, managed by the Ministry of Communication and Information and BSSN, was breached by the LockBit 3.0 ransomware on June 20, 2024. The data center in Surabaya manages data from 73 ministries and institutions, as well as hundreds of regional governments.

The government is still trying to recover the compromised data. Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Hadi Tjahjanto said in a written statement on July 12 that the number of services restored at PDNS 2 had increased to 86 services from 16 tenants.

The government is implementing short, medium and long-term strategies to restore public services affected by the PDN breach. This step includes an audit of the national data center, which will be conducted by an independent third party. This strategy will not be implemented until September, with the goal of implementing the audit results by November 2024 at the latest.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

Editor’s Choice: Jokowi Inaugurates 906 TNI-Polri Officers 2024

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News