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Suspected data breach raises concerns about planned core tax system
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Numbers game: An official assists a taxpayer at the Palangka Raya tax office in Palanka Raya, Central Kalimantan, on March 3, 2024. (Antara/Auliya Rahman)
T
he Finance Ministry’s Taxation Directorate General has denied reports of a data breach involving sensitive taxpayer information following an internal investigation.
Tax office spokesperson Dwi Astuti said in a statement on Friday that there was “no indication that the data breach occurred within the Taxation Directorate General’s system”, adding that the tax office had checked access logs from the past six years.
She also claimed “the data structure from the leaked sample differs from the one used for tax management”.
“The Taxation Directorate General is committed to ensuring the confidentiality and security of taxpayer data within our infrastructure and systems. We will continue to enhance our data security and protection system by evaluating and improving our data and system governance,” she said.
Cybersecurity expert Teguh Aprianto shared a screenshot on Wednesday on social media platform X purporting to show leaked national identity and taxpayer identification numbers belonging to 6.6 million Indonesians, including President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and top ministers.
A hacker named Bjorka claimed responsibility for the breach, which occurred in September, and is now selling the sensitive data for US$10,000, according to the post.
On Thursday, Jokowi ordered the Finance Ministry, the Communications and Information Ministry and the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN) to swiftly address the reported breach.
