DIGIVESTASI - Roy Suryo Criticizes Government After National Data Center Hacked by Ransomware. Telematics expert Roy Suryo has spoken out after the government conceded the loss of data at the National Data Center (PDN) due to a ransomware attack. Roy emphasized that all issues related to this hacking fall under the responsibility of Budi Arie, the Minister of Communication and Informatics (Menkominfo).

According to Roy, if Budi Arie feels unable to handle this responsibility, he should resign from his position to avoid burdening President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

"If he cannot handle it and the government has surrendered to this hacking, then he should resign. The person most responsible here is the Minister of Communication and Informatics, Mr. Budi Arie," Roy stated in a video received by Tribunnews.com on Thursday (27/6/2024).

Roy also criticized the government’s attitude, which he believes downplayed the severity of the PDN hacking incident. Although backed-up data has been secured, Roy pointed out that this does not guarantee the data has not been exploited by the hackers for other purposes.

"The hackers might have already used the data further. They definitely encrypted the data, meaning they had accessed the National Data Center network and the 282 government services integrated within it. Before encryption, everything would have been copied," he added.

However, Roy supported the government's decision not to meet the ransom demand of 8 million USD, or approximately 131 billion IDR, as requested by the hackers.

Government Concedes Data Loss

Previously, Director of Network and IT Solutions at Telkom, Herlan Wijanarko, stated that the government, including Kominfo, the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN), and the police, have conceded the loss of data at the PDN after the ransomware attack.

"We are working hard to recover using the resources we have. Clearly, data affected by ransomware cannot be recovered. So, we are using the resources we still have," said Herlan in a press conference at the Kominfo Building, Jakarta, on Wednesday (26/6/2024).

Herlan claimed that the encrypted data is still on the PDN servers and has not been moved elsewhere. He believed that the data from ministries/agencies (K/L) and local governments would not leak or spread widely.

"A preliminary audit by BSSN shows that the data is only encrypted and remains in place. The PDN system has now been isolated, and no one can access it as we have cut off external access," Herlan explained.

At the same event, Director General of Public Information and Communication at Kominfo, Usman Kansong, confirmed that the government would not meet the ransom demand of 131 billion IDR made by the hackers. This decision was made after it was found that the data encrypted by the hackers remained inside the PDN.

Usman stated that BSSN had isolated and disconnected the PDN server network to prevent the hackers from accessing and taking the data within.

"The data has been secured, and neither the hackers nor we can tamper with it because we have closed off access," said Usman.

Usman emphasized that the government had decided to let the data remain isolated, as there was no guarantee that paying the ransom would lead to the recovery of the data or that the hackers would not take it.

"Yes, we are leaving it inside, and we have isolated it. So, nothing can be done with it. The hackers cannot take it either," Usman concluded. "Indeed, even if we paid, there is no guarantee the data would be returned and not taken by the hackers," he added.

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