Intelligence Day and the Importance of Maintaining Cyber Space
On every 4th of April, we commemorate Indonesian Intelligence Day, an opportunity to celebrate the important role of intelligence agencies in maintaining national security. As a former student of the National Intelligence Academy (Aksara), now known as the National Cyber and Intelligence Polytechnic (Poltek SSN), I was taught about the arduous struggle of Major General TNI Dr. Roebiono Kertopati in pioneering the establishment of the State Intelligence Agency until the formation of the State Intelligence Agency on April 4, 1946.
His struggle was significant because prior to receiving the assignment from the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia at that time, Mr. Amir Sjariffudin, to establish and lead a secret intelligence agency for governmental interests, his profession was that of a doctor serving in the Ministry of Defense, Department B (Intelligence). He was unfamiliar with the world of intelligence.
Another challenging task was forming and building the Code Service concurrently with the task of constructing a code system. The initial formation of the Code Service was carried out by him with the assistance of Lieutenant Santoso, whom he appointed as the head of intelligence education in December 1946. At that time, the Code Service was also known as the State Intelligence Agency, an agency located in Yogyakarta and directly under the Ministry of Defense, Department V, with its main task being intelligence management. In addition to developing code systems, the Code Service was also tasked with decrypting enemy encrypted messages and carrying out Courier Service duties to inspect news from both domestic and foreign sources. Perhaps we would not have truly achieved independence without intelligence and the code service because all wartime operational plans would have been easily intercepted by the enemy. From the Code Service, it continued to evolve into a large organization, namely the State Cyber and Intelligence Agency, after several transformations.
The cyber domain has become a dynamic and unpredictable arena, with various evolving threats. From cyberattacks aimed at critical infrastructure to data theft and disinformation dissemination, the challenges faced in cyberspace are increasingly complex and alarming. Cyberspace is a virtual domain encompassing computer networks, information systems, software, and globally connected data. In this cyberspace, there are various challenges to be faced by individuals, organizations, and countries, such as Cyberattacks, Identity Theft, Disinformation & Hoaxes, Cybercrime and Online Criminality, Information and Policy Warfare, Critical Infrastructure Vulnerabilities as well as Privacy and Data Protection.
Cyberspace has become a modern battlefield demonstrating its complexity and uniqueness. Cyber threats evolve rapidly and often remain unseen, including cyberattacks, data theft, online propaganda, and even malicious software aimed at disrupting critical infrastructure. In confronting these challenges, Indonesian intelligence is faced with a daunting task.
There have been numerous incidents of data breaches, including 74 GB of Bank Indonesia data, 17 million PLN customer data, 17 thousand Directorate General of Taxation account data, 679 thousand letters for President Jokowi, 26 million National Police data, 3.2 billion Care Protect data, 2.3 million 2014 Voter List data, 6 million hospital patient data, 1.3 million eHAC data, 38 MB KPAI complaint data, 26 million Police member data, 1.3 trillion sim card registration data, 36 million Motor Vehicle data, 272 million BPJS health data, 19 million BPJS Employment data, 2 million photos from BPJS, 34 million Passport data, 6.9 million Visa data, 186 million KPU data, 1 trillion Ministry of Villages data, 337 million Civil Registration data, 6.8 million DKI Province Voter List data, 1.64 TB data stolen from the Ministry of Defense website, 204.8 million KPU Voter List data, and the latest theft of 380 thousand Biznet customer data & 154 thousand Biznet Gio customer data suspected to be done by insiders within the company.
Given the magnitude of these data leaks, intelligence plays a vital role as the last line of defense in cybersecurity because there is no system that is truly strong, so encryption intelligence will ensure that data transmitted and stored in digital environments are protected from unauthorized access, so if data theft occurs, perpetrators will not be able to read the information contained therein. By using appropriate intelligence techniques, messages or data transmitted through networks can be encrypted so that they cannot be read by unauthorized parties, thus preventing interception and ensuring the confidentiality of communication. Intelligence becomes an important instrument in maintaining the confidentiality of operations, strategic planning, and the exchange of confidential information in military and intelligence, which will certainly help maintain strategic superiority and national security.
In addition to encryption, another form of intelligence that needs to be utilized is digital signatures embedded in digital documents that will guarantee the authenticity of digital documents because digital documents that have been embedded with digital signatures will be easily known if changes are made to the document after the digital signature is embedded, so it cannot be denied whether the digital document is still authentic or has been altered. In this digital age, the need for digital signatures will be very high both in the government and private sectors. In Indonesia itself, there are already quite a few providers of electronic certificates and digital signatures.
However, in this increasingly complex digital era, cyberspace becomes an unseen yet influential battlefield. Behind the scenes, the Indonesian State Cyber and Intelligence Agency (BSSN) plays a crucial role in maintaining security and sovereignty in cyberspace.
As a strategic institution responsible for national cybersecurity, leadership and personnel with high competence are crucial because the challenges in cyberspace are becoming more complex and diverse, requiring BSSN to have leaders and personnel who deeply understand various aspects of cybersecurity, including emerging threats, latest technologies, and related regulations. Competent leaders will be able to lead teams efficiently and respond quickly and accurately in identifying, analyzing, and responding to emerging cyber threats.
BSSN is also responsible for developing cybersecurity policies and regulations, so competent leaders and personnel are expected to be able to design effective and adaptive policies according to technological developments and existing threats. Competent leaders and personnel can build efficient and mutually beneficial partnerships because the success of BSSN in maintaining national cybersecurity also depends on its ability to collaborate with various parties, including government agencies, the private sector, and international organizations.
Competent leaders and personnel will be able to lead training, research, and technology development programs needed to strengthen cyber defenses because BSSN must continue to develop its technical and human capacity in the field of cybersecurity.
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