TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Police data reportedly stolen in latest cyberattack on state agencies
In a Twitter post on Wednesday, user @son1x777 claimed to have hacked into the National Police system and stolen the personal data of thousands of police officers, from their dates of birth to badge numbers.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Illustration of data protection. (Shutterstock/PopTika)
A
recent alleged police data breach shows that not only is the general public susceptible to having their data stolen and traded online amid the absence of data protection laws, but also law enforcement officials.
In a Twitter post on Wednesday, user @son1x777 claimed to have hacked into the National Police system and stolen the personal data of thousands of police officers, from their dates of birth to badge numbers. By Saturday, the account had been suspended for violating Twitter rules.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo has said that the police were still looking into the alleged data breach, kompas.com reported.
Wahyudi Djafar from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), which has been advocating for personal data protection laws for years, said the police must act fast to mitigate further data leakages and identify security vulnerabilities in their system.
“The police must also notify the subjects [police personnel] whose data has been compromised," Wahyudi told The Jakarta Post.
He said the alleged incident underlined the urgent need for the personal data protection bill to be passed into law, which will provide guidelines for law enforcement agencies to impose stern penalties against the illegal use of personal data.
Read also: Activists demand swift passage of data protection bill
