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.