Indonesia and Cyber Attacks

Kompas/Agus Susanto

An announcement board warning against a virus attack is displayed at the patients\' registration room at Dharmais Hospital in Jakarta on Monday (15/5). The WannaCry ransomware hack struck several countries last week, crippling businesses such as automobile manufacturing and hospitals. In Indonesia, the virus attacked Dharmais Hospital, forcing the institution to temporarily conduct their services manually.

We frequently hear about the hacking of internet sites and accounts. However, an attack such as the one that struck several countries over the weekend has sparked anxiety.

As we have seen on the news, a Ransomware rogue computer program named WannaCry has attacked thousands of computers using the Window 8 operating system or earlier versions. If attacked, data on the computer is locked and cannot be opened. Access is again possible if the user pays the hacker US$300 in compensation.