JAKARTA. In a significant cyberattack, more than 40 Indonesian agencies, including the ministry overseeing immigration, were targeted, causing widespread disruption to immigration services and operations at major airports across the country. This attack is considered the worst Indonesia has faced in recent years.
Usman Kansong, an official from the communications ministry, confirmed that 44 government agencies, including key ministries, were victims of a ransomware attack. “Data at five agencies, including immigration services and the coordinating ministry of investment, have been restored, and the government is working to restore data at 39 other agencies,” Kansong said. He added, “We expect the data at 18 government agencies to be restored by the end of this month.”
During a joint press conference with the ministry, Harlan Wijanarko, director of the Telkom Group, sought to reassure the public about the security of their data. “We have isolated the system in the national data centre so no one can enter it. We cut the access from the outside,” Wijanarko stated, noting that an investigation into the cause of the attack is ongoing.
The Telkom Group operates two major data centers in Indonesia, located in Jakarta and Surabaya, which are critical for storing data for all government agencies. The Surabaya data center was identified as the target of the attack.
Earlier this week, Indonesia’s communications ministry revealed that the attackers used malicious software known as Lockbit 3.0 and demanded an $8 million ransom, which the government refused to pay. The Lockbit cybercrime group is notorious for using ransomware to extort victims by encrypting their data and demanding payments in cryptocurrency in exchange for a decryption key.
The Indonesian government is working diligently to restore affected systems and ensure the security of its data infrastructure in the wake of this unprecedented cyberattack.
Carlo Juancho FuntanillaFrontend Developer, WordPress, Shopify
Contributing Editor
AMA ACLC San Pablo
