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Alleged passport data breach renews calls for independent oversight agency
The breach of 34.9 million passport holders' data, while unconfirmed, points to the urgent need for an independent and strong oversight agency to protect Indonesians' personal data, especially data held at public institutions, a cybersecurity expert says.
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Stock illustration of an Indonesian passport (Shutterstock/Rizvisual)
A
n alleged data breach affecting millions of Indonesian passport holders has renewed calls for the establishment of an independent oversight agency to ensure effective protection of personal data.
Cybersecurity analyst Teguh Aprianto revealed on Wednesday on his Twitter account (@secgron) that pseudonymous hacker Bjorka had breached and offered 4 gigabytes of passport data belonging to 34.9 million Indonesian citizens for US$10,000.
The data contains the individual’s full name, passport number, date of expiry, date of birth and their gender.
Teguh had analyzed around 1 million samples that Bjorka had posted on a hacker platform and concluded that the data was genuine.
The Communications and Information Ministry immediately launched an investigation into the alleged cybercrime, but said it could not confirm the breach.
Usman Kansong, the ministry’s information and public communication director general, pointed to several differences in the data structure between Bjorka’s samples and those in the national data center, Antara reported.
The communications ministry is continuing its investigation in coordination with the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN) and the Immigration Directorate General of the Law and Human Rights Ministry.
