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Top communications ministry official resigns following ransomware attack

During 2014 election, Semuel was on the permanent executive committee of Seknas Jokowi, a group of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo supporters.

Ruth Dea Juwita (The Jakarta Post)
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Thu, July 4, 2024

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Top communications ministry official resigns following ransomware attack The Communications and Information Ministry's informatics applications director general, Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, resigns on Thursday following the recent ransomware attack that crippled a national data center. (JP/Ruth Dea Juwita)
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senior Communications and Information Ministry official announced his resignation on Thursday following a ransomware attack that crippled a temporary national data center, which has led to weeks of disruption to many government services.

The ministry’s informatics applications director general Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, announced on Thursday that he took responsibility for the failure to safeguard the data center in Surabaya, East Java, from the cyberattack on June 20, citing a “moral failing” on his watch as his reason for stepping down.

“I decided to resign on July 1 and tendered the letter [of resignation] to the minister [Budi Arie Setiadi] yesterday,” said Semuel, who had served for eight years in his position, when publicly announcing his resignation during a press conference.

“I apologize for all the mistakes made and anything I said that caused upset. This incident is technically my responsibility and I should have resolved it.”

The resignation came after the cyberattack caused nationwide disruption to services connected to the server.

The cyberattack was carried out using Brain Cipher, an updated version of the LockBit 3.0 ransomware allegedly used for the hit on state-owned sharia lender Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) last year. 

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The temporary national data center is fully managed by the communications ministry through infrastructure and network services leased from state-owned telco firm PT Telkom’s subsidiary Telkomsigma and publicly listed telco firm Indosat subsidiary Lintasarta, respectively.

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