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Digital attacks bedevil government critics
At least 26 people have been victims of online intimidation in Indonesia this year, according to Amnesty International.
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Cyberattacks on individuals, civil society groups and media in Indonesia are on the rise according to the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet). (JP/Arief Suhardiman)
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s the government drags its feet on a promise to revise the nation’s draconian cyberlaw and as scores of citizens continue to be prosecuted under the legislation for expressing their opinions online, government critics are encountering a new threat: digital harassment.
Multiple forms of digital intimidation have become more prevalent under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration. They are believed to be efforts to silence critical voices, fueling concerns about shrinking space for dissent in the country.
The most recent set of digital attacks targeted the organizers of and speakers for a webinar held by Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) in Jakarta on Monday.
The YouTube-streamed webinar was held in opposition to a controversial plan by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leadership to fire 75 of the commission’s employees, including top investigator Novel Baswedan, who has led investigations into several high-profile government officials and politicians.
The online event was disrupted by unidentified intruders who managed to join the private Zoom call by disguising themselves as speakers or ICW members and who then posted pornographic images and videos and muted other speakers.
Nisa Rizkiah, an ICW activist and the moderator of the event, believed her Gojek account was hacked in an attempt to distract her from leading the discussion. At least eight ICW members had their WhatsApp accounts taken over by unidentified parties, the group said, after receiving robocalls from US phone numbers and Telkomsel cellular numbers. Another ICW activist said there was an attempt to hack his Telegram account.
“It is important to note that this hacking incident is not the first attack against civil society activists. This happened previously during the controversial selection of [the current] KPK leadership and during [deliberations on] the revision to the KPK Law in 2019, the Mining Law and the Job Creation Law,” the ICW said.
