Audit and Strengthen Cybersecurity

Asked about the alleged hacking on Sunday (12/9), Communications and Information (Kominfo) Minister Johnny G. Plate said he had handed the matter over to the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN).

KOMPAS/NIKOLAUS HARBOWO

News about hacking in the internal network of ten ministries/agencies in The Record. Photo taken Sunday (12/9/2021).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS –—All ministries and agencies are expected to audit their cybersecurity systems following the discovery that the internal networks of 10 ministries and agencies, including the State Intelligence Agency, had allegedly been hacked. Systems also need strengthening, from human resources to security systems.The alleged hacking was reported by international media The Record on Friday (10/9/2021). The hacking was discovered by Insikt Group, the cyberthreat research division of Recorded Future, a cybersecurity company based in the United States.

The hacking was linked to Mustang Panda, a group of hackers in China known for various acts of espionage that targeted Southeast Asian countries. Insikt Group researchers discovered that the hacking against Indonesian institutions was carried out in April 2021, when they detected that the PlugX malware command and control (C&C) server operated by Mustang Panda was communicating with a host on an Indonesian government network.