Cyber Security and Resilience Bill Deemed Necessary for Public Data Protection

The House of Representatives (DPR) and the government have officially introduced the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill as a strategic measure to strengthen national digital sovereignty. A working committee has been formed to deliberate the draft, reviving crucial discussions about the current state of cyber security in Indonesia. Chairman of the Cyber Security Research Institute CISSReC, Pratama Dahlian Persadha, offered critical notes on the bill’s discussion. He stated that the primary focus must be on clarifying inter-agency coordination to avoid overlapping authority. ‘Discussing cyber security and resilience in Indonesia today requires clear coordination between agencies. What are the tasks of BSSN, what are the tasks of Komdigi, what are the tasks of the Police, and what are the tasks of the TNI,’ Pratama said. He also reminded lawmakers of the importance of regulatory harmonisation so that this bill does not conflict with other existing legal instruments. The urgency for this legal framework is based on alarming field data. According to the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN), there were 5.5 billion cyber attacks in Indonesia throughout 2025, ranging from breaches of government agencies to massive malware distribution among the public. Pratama emphasised that the public is currently in a vulnerable position. Without strengthened regulation and protection, critical public service sectors and infrastructure such as transportation, health, and banking are at risk of total paralysis from cyber attacks. A sharp point of criticism is the failure to establish a Personal Data Protection Agency, despite it being mandated by law. This has left victims of scams or data leaks confused about where to report. ‘No one takes responsibility; there is no compensation mechanism for people who fall victim to scams,’ Pratama stressed. He urged the government to seriously address the increasingly sophisticated phenomena of AI-powered fraud and data theft. ‘The key is that we must develop strong encryption methods. That way, if our data is breached, it remains secure and cannot be used by irresponsible parties,’ he concluded.