The Government And The Financial Sector Are The Main Targets Of Cyber Attacks In Indonesia

Kaspersky Country Manager, Indonesia, Defri Nofitra (photo: Dinda Buana/VOI)

JAKARTA - Kaspersky found that Indonesia continues to face advanced ransomware attacks and active Advanced Persistent Threats (APT). Where these advanced APT groups target important individuals and sectors in Indonesia.

Throughout 2024, the global cybersecurity company found several advanced APT groups targeting Indonesia, including Mysterious Elephant, Spring Dragon, Ocean Lotus, Toddycat, Lazarus, Tetris Phantom, and Sidewinder.

In the same year, Kaspersky's telemetry also managed to stop 20 million attacks from various online sources aimed at users in Indonesia. Where more than 649,267 malware efforts were detected targeting the banking sector in Tanah Ait last year.

Kaspersky Country Manager, Indonesia, Defri Nofitra said that especially in Indonesia, the government and financial sectors are often the main targets of cybercriminals.

"So there are several categories in this sector. The first is the government sector. The second is the sector based on economic projection. So, financial, in terms of financial specificity," said Defri when asked by VOI at the Media Meeting With Director of GREAT Kaspersky event on Tuesday, August 19 in Jakarta.

He explained that the financial sector is very attractive to cybercriminals because of the large economic incentives. This is in line with the latest announcement from the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs which states that there have been financial losses due to cyber crime in Indonesia reaching Rp476 billion.

However, Defri added, although the threat is increasingly complex, Indonesia is considered to have a fairly good baseline of cybersecurity.

"We have a number of hearings with BSSN to help secure areas that are considered weak. There are various activities and ongoing cooperation," explained Defri.

Nevertheless, he emphasized that cybersecurity is not only the task of one institution, it takes synergy between regulators, governments, business people, vendors, industry, and the community.

"Security is not something that can be handled by only one party. There are many points of view, regulators, there are also governments. So, there is synergy between business people, vendors, industry, and regulators," he said.