Ballot counting vulnerable to hackers: Agency

Ballot counting vulnerable to hackers: Agency

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The agency in charge of compiling the votes for the 2004 general
elections ballots says that their computers are vulnerable to a
hacker attack.

Basuki Suhardiman, an information technology (IT) member of
the General Elections Commission (KPU), said on Saturday that his
team had prepared layered security measures to minimize such
attacks.

"There must be someone out there who'd like to hack into a big
event like this," he told the Jakarta Post.

The IT team will limit those with access to the online ballot
counting system by giving them each a special password.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri and KPU chairman Nazaruddin
Sjamsuddin are among those who will be given passwords in
addition to KPU staff at the subdistrict level.

"Although some of them will only have the right to read the
data, in theory they could still change the data.

"So we will do our best to create a layered security wall so
that those who only have the right to read data will not have the
ability to add new data," he said.

Megawati also chairs the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle, one of the parties contesting the 2004 general
election.

Basuki added that the IT team would also be ready to handle
any computer virus attacks from hackers once it published the
result of the ballot counting over the Internet.

"But if a virus attacks our system at our server for instance,
the attacked server will automatically shut down and back-up
server will replace it," he said, adding that the attacked
servers would be repaired within two or three days.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-
Jakti who visited the KPU IT office on Friday told the KPU to
prevent computer virus attacks that may disrupt the whole
process.

"The information technology (IT) team of KPU must handle this
issue seriously as the ballot counting is a very sensitive issue.
Do not underestimate this," he told the team.

The team is led by Toemin A. Masoem from the Agency for the
Research and Application of Technology (BBPT), with several
members including Aryana Haribawa of the BPPT and Basuki from the
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Dorodjatun said the IT team should hold a rehearsal so that
they would be prepared in the event that their computers came
under attack.

General elections for legislators will be on April 5, 2004,
while presidential elections will be held on July 5, 2004 for the
first round and Sept. 20 for the second round.

Some 145 million out of a population of 214 million people
living in 32 provinces, 416 regencies, 5,000 subdistricts, are
eligible to vote. Ballot counting will start using the online
system when the counted ballots reach the subdistrict
headquarters.

Dorodjatun, however, was concerned about the amount requested
for the costs to establish the online system that was reportedly
in the range of Rp 50 billion (US$5.8 million) to Rp 110 billion.

The KPU IT team has said the Rp 50 billion fund would be
required to equip all 32 provinces, and 376
regencies/municipalities with the system. But with Rp 110
billion, the KPU would be able to set up an online system in all
446 regencies/municipalities and 4,985 subdistricts, it said.