JAKARTA, June 29 – The Indonesian government is benchmarking India and Canada’s data protection measures to fortify the security of national data centers, according to State Apparatus and Bureaucratic Reform (PAN RB) Minister Abdullah Azwar Anas.
“I have suggested that we take notes from various countries, including Canada and India. These countries have established a special unit tasked with dealing with this matter,” he said at the State Palace, Jakarta, on Friday.
After attending a meeting helmed by President Joko Widodo on the recent cyberattack on state data centers, Anas said that his ministry is planning to set up new state institutions dedicated to solidifying the resilience of Indonesia’s data centers.
“The PAN RB Ministry is currently taking notes from practices of various countries to determine which one is the most suitable to the need to properly manage our data centers,” he added.
The minister further said that the cyberattack on the Temporary National Data Center (PDNS) 2 that has disrupted several public services since June 20, 2024, should serve as a highly valuable lesson for the government.
The incident should prompt the government to prevent similar disruptions in the future and take measures to ensure that the National Data Center that will be launched this year is safe from cyberattacks, he added.
“The recent attack was directed at a temporary data center. We are currently preparing the National Data Center that will be inaugurated at the end of this year,” he said.
Earlier, the government was asked to pay US$8 million in ransom to retrieve the data.
Communication and Informatics Minister Budi Arie Setiadi affirmed that Indonesia will not comply with such a demand.
“No, we will not (pay),” he said after attending the Plenary Cabinet Economy Session at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday.
