Billy Mambrasar: Papuan Youth Must Be A Smart Generation Of Digital Technology

Photo of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics

JAKARTA - Presidential special staff, Billy Mambrasar explained, digital access has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to his experience when visiting Papua, several cities and villages that previously had no internet connection, are now connected.

He also revealed that internet users producing creative works in Papua, West Papua, and eastern Indonesia as a whole, have increased.

He admitted that he was surprised when the event was attended by thousands of people in the city of Padang, West Sumatra, many of whom knew the Papuan song sung by Mace Purba.

"So imagine this internet causing works of Papuan children who previously did not know to know, and even heard not only throughout Indonesia but throughout the world," he explained.

However, according to him, ownership of internet access must also be accompanied by good digital literacy skills so as not to cause problems.

“Digital literacy is the ability to use technology and use that access for productive things. So we don't just use it for fun, but for work," he said.

He also reminded that Indonesian youth, especially Papuans, must be a generation that is smart in digital technology.

“Imagine if we can use this digital technology to create jobs and make changes. Don't just get into entertainment or just waste time, but be more productive using digital technology," he explained.

Director of Political, Legal and Security Information and Communication, Ministry of Communications and Informatics, Bambang Gunawan in his remarks at the Digital Legal and Human Rights Literacy Forum (FIRTUAL) said that online financial transactions and shopping in e-commerce make the risk of misuse of personal data even greater.

Data leakage can occur even though maintenance has been carried out so that data security is guaranteed confidentiality.

“The government must always be ready to face the threat of cybercrime, including the crime of data misuse. Data sovereignty must be realized and citizens' rights to personal data must be protected so that regulations need to be prepared without compromise," he stressed.

According to him, the regulation aims to make it easier for people to achieve their goals, provide a sense of security, make it easier for everyone to do good, and encourage all parties to innovate.

He stated that currently, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics is waiting for the continuation of the discussion of the Personal Data Protection Bill (PDP) which is already in the Indonesian House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, while waiting for the ratification of the PDP Bill into law, the government continues to implement the PDP practice and enforcement through various efforts.

"In dealing with cases of personal data leakage, the Ministry of Communication and Information also encourages the implementation of education, literacy, and awareness-raising programs for PDP that involve multi-stakeholders on a wider scale," said Bambang.

In addition, the Ministry of Communications and Informatics continues to build massive Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure from upstream to downstream for the sake of equitable distribution of digital migration.

In Papua Province, the Ministry of Communications and Informatics through BAKTI has built 213 existing 4G BTS and 244 existing 4G BTS in West Papua from 2015 to 2020.

In 2022, BAKTI will continue to build telecommunications infrastructure of 2,765 4G BTS, namely 2,220 in Papua, and 545 in West Papua.

“The existence of this 4G BTS is to bring the people of Papua and West Papua to migrate to the digital era. Of course, this infrastructure development must also be in line with the implementation of education, literacy, and awareness-raising PDP programs for the people of Papua and West Papua, "explained Bambang.

Meanwhile, data from BPS and APJII in 2018 states that internet users in Papua are the highest in eastern Indonesia.

According to Bambang, this of course needs to be accompanied by literacy in safe internet usage and data protection for users in the area.

"This socialization is expected to be a moment to move together to maintain the security of personal data, as well as to increase people's digital literacy so that they are more aware of the security of personal data," he concluded.

Legal expert Josua Sitompul who was present online said that nowadays, data is the new oil of the digital economy or data is the new oil in the digital economy.

According to him, protection in cyberspace is needed to protect personal data in various processes or transactions. Currently, there are many existing approaches, both nationally, regionally, and internationally in protecting personal data.

He stated that Indonesia itself has more than 30 laws and regulations ranging from laws to Ministerial Regulations that regulate the protection of personal data which later underwent changes to the PDP Bill which is currently still being discussed in the DPR.

"It is hoped that through these progressive changes, Indonesia will have a strong personal data protection regime, so that it can help Indonesia in dealing with other global instruments," he said.

Also, present online, Budi Rahardjo as a Cyber Security Practitioner explained about cyber security.

According to him, weak passwords are the biggest problem in Indonesia.

"We must not use passwords that have anything to do with our personal data, no!" he said.

He also provides tips to strengthen password security, namely by not using easy-to-guess words related to personal data or words in dictionaries, passwords should not be the same for different services, and must be changed periodically.

In addition, personal data needs to be protected because it can be used for fraud. According to him at this time it is not the problem of hacking that is more feared, but a fraud.

As an entrepreneur from Papua, Jonatan Warinussy said, the current digital era makes it very easy for young entrepreneurs to be able to do entrepreneurship without the need for a physical store.

However, with this convenience, cybercrimes have also increased.

"To find business capital, young entrepreneurs usually use online loan platforms that are not registered because they don't understand, so their data can be stolen and misused," he explained.

Jonatan started his business in 2019, migrating from Papua to the city of Bandung to continue his education.

He told me that his difficulty in finding culinary that matched his taste actually opened up opportunities for him to become a culinary entrepreneur.

"In the era of digital technology as it is today, it is very easy to do promotions, I usually use Instagram for marketing," he said.

Regarding the security of personal data, he reminded that before providing data, you must first make sure the platform is registered and can maintain privacy.

“In this digital era, our privacy can be open to anyone, especially those closest to us. Usually, the misuse of data can occur because at first, we are not protective of our personal data until finally, data misuse can occur. So friends, you have to be more protective because personal data is very easy for cybercriminals," explained Jonatan.

This event was held in a hybrid manner (offline and online) at a hotel in Bandung, West Java, and can be watched through the YouTube channel of the Directorate General of IKP, Ministry of Communications and Informatics.

In addition to providing material and question and answer sessions, the event was also enlivened by Social Media Challenge games which all participants could participate in.

This activity aims to provide an understanding to the general public, especially the Papuan community and related parties regarding the importance of cybersecurity and the risk of personal data theft in Indonesia, as well as being careful and critical in maintaining the security of personal data.