KPU website remains vulnerable

KPU website remains vulnerable

Evi Mariani, Jakarta

The Jakarta Police cyber crime division has been monitoring
hacker communities and says planned websites for vote counting in
the presidential election are likely to be the next hacking
targets.

"Based on our investigations, we have found indications these
websites could be favorite targets for hackers like before (in
the legislative election)," the division chief Adj. Sr. Comr.
Petrus R. Golose said during the weekend.

"We have increased the security in the (General Elections
Commission or KPU) website, but of course I will not reveal
further details," he said.

Petrus said police had received reports some hackers had
recently managed to access some companies' websites, including
that of state oil company Pertamina.

"They created running texts on the websites, demanding the
release of fellow hacker Dani Firmansyah," he said, adding that
Dani's mother had requested he be freed but confined to Jakarta,
which the police had turned down.

"We are not treating him like a petty criminal. He's a smart
boy and we respect his brain," Petrus said.

Since being detained by police, Dani has been banned from
Internet access but is allowed access to writing materials.

Dani, a final year student with the School of International
Relations at the University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, is being
held for allegedly hacking the KPU website, at
http://tnp.kpu.go.id.

He allegedly managed to break into the website on April 17 and
changed the 24 political parties names into silly ones, including
the Green Clad Party, the Please Don't Be Angry Party, the Please
Fix the Website Party and the Packaged Drinking Water Party.

Dani told the police he had only wanted to test the KPU
website security system as it was set up with Rp 152 billion
(US$17.57 million) of public money.

He said the system was weak as he did not find it difficult at
all to hack into.