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.