The Urgency Of Voter List Information Security For 2024 Election Running Smooth

Photo by Joan Gamell on Unsplash

JAKARTA - The General Election Commission (KPU) must increase the security of permanent voter list data (DPT) for the smooth running of the 2024 election. Do not let the personal data of voters leak in the hands of hackers.

"In the era of technological advances, cyber attacks must be anticipated. There must be a guarantee of election voter data security so that our democratic party can run smoothly, safely and peacefully. The security of voter personal data is also absolute to be protected," said Speaker of the Indonesian Parliament Puan Maharani, Thursday 30 November.

The virtual world is excited about the issue of DPT leakage. Cyber criminals with the name Anonymous 'Jimbo' claimed to have hacked the KPU.go.id site and got 204 million KPU DPT. In addition to breaking into, hackers also sell the data for US $ 74,000 or equivalent to IDR 1.2 billion.

The data that is claimed to be successfully hacked by 'Jimbo' includes NIK, No. KK, KTP number (contains passport number for voters who are abroad), full name, gender, date of birth, place of birth, marital status, full address, RT, RW, Kelurahan Codeification, District and Regency as well as codeification of polling sites (TPS) Indonesian citizens in the DPT.

Alleged cases of KPU data leaks also occurred when in 2022 where Bjorka hackers claimed to get 105 million voter data from the KPU website, then distributed to online forums.

These data are 20 GB and contain information such as NIK, Family Card (KK), Full Name, Place of Birth, Gender, Age, and others. Bjorka itself sells it for USD 5 thousand or equivalent to IDR 7.4 million.

Puan encouraged the KPU and the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kemenkominfo) to work together with cyber security institutions and related parties to ensure optimal data protection and cyber security.

"We have a BSSN (Cyber and Code of State Agency) which has the nation's children who can dispel cyber attacks. That way, synergy is needed to ward off technological crimes like this," Puan said.

The former Coordinating Minister for PMK asserted, cyber attacks are things that should be watched carefully. According to Puan, this requires the urgency of further prevention and investigation.

"The KPU and the Ministry of Communication and Information must immediately identify weaknesses in the security system that allows the hacking of the system," said the first woman who served as the Speaker of the Indonesian Parliament.

Furthermore, Puan stressed the need for the KPU to update the cyber protection system to prevent similar attacks in the future.

"Investment in cyber security technology, training for IT personnel, and the application of strict security standards is a crucial step in protecting public institutions, especially those involved in democratic processes such as the KPU," explained Puan.

Bung Karno's grand-daughter revealed, the threat of leakage of voter data opened a gap for fraud of identity and other criminal activities that could harm residents. Puan added, this problem also raised prejudice between related parties that could make the conducivity of the implementation of the election disrupted.

"The voter data exposed can be manipulated for certain political interests, threatening the integrity of the election and public trust," she said.

"So it is very important that there is further investigation of the issue of this leak, and the steps to increase data security. In addition to the security of public data, guaranteed information about the DPT is also so that there is no interruption of the implementation of the election," concluded Puan.