Observer Evaluates Need for Espionage Law to Anticipate Foreign Cyber Threats
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Intelligence and strategic issues observer Muhammad Arbani believes that Indonesia urgently needs an Anti-Espionage and Foreign Intervention Law to anticipate threats to national sovereignty, which can now be carried out covertly, including through cyberspace.
Arbani stated that technological developments mean espionage is no longer limited to conventional methods, as it can utilise various channels, including the activities of foreign students, necessitating clear legal boundaries.
“Therefore, an espionage and foreign intervention law is actually a new concept. This law has never existed before. This is dangerous because espionage can currently be conducted covertly,” Arbund said in a statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to him, foreign intervention can also target various sectors, such as politics, economy, history, and culture. In the economic field, intervention can be carried out through pressures such as embargoes that impact the national economic condition.
Arbani assessed that cyberspace has become a new battlefield that needs to be anticipated, as it can be used to conduct influence operations, the spread of hoaxes, post-truth, and propaganda within hybrid warfare schemes.
“Thus, this anti-espionage and foreign intervention law is very necessary to prevent undesirable activities, particularly regarding cyber threats. These interventions can enter through cyberspace,” he said.
He noted that while Indonesia already possesses several regulations related to intelligence, information security, personal data, and cyber activities, these rules each have their own specific focus. Consequently, they have yet to form a comprehensive legal framework regarding foreign espionage, foreign intervention, influence operations, and cyber-espionage.
“If Indonesia has this, we will be strong nationally. Espionage activities would be prohibited because they threaten national security, and therefore, criminal penalties could be imposed,” he said.
Arbani emphasised that an Anti-Espionage Law should not merely regulate the prosecution of spies, but must also cover the illegal collection of strategic information, the recruitment of agents, connections with foreign principals, influence operations, and technology-based espionage.
“The Anti-Espionage Law should not only be aimed at catching spies. The regulation needs to serve as a legal framework that defines espionage and foreign intervention, relationships with foreign principals, illegal strategic information gathering, agent recruitment, influence operations, and digital-based espionage,” he added.
On the other hand, Arbani warned that such regulations must continue to protect democracy, civil liberties, journalism, and legitimate academic activities to ensure they do not become instruments for silencing criticism.
“Therefore, the strengthening of the legal framework must be carried out while maintaining a balance between national security, democracy, and the rights of citizens,” he said.
Previously, the Head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), General (Ret.) Muhammad Herindra, emphasised the importance of strengthening the national legal framework to face evolving espionage and foreign intervention threats amidst global geopolitical competition through the issuance of an Anti-Espionage and Foreign Intervention Law.
In a seminar titled “Sovereignty at the Frontline: National Policy for Countering Espionage and Foreign Intervention” organised by the ASEAN Study Center (ASC) of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia (FISIP UI), Herindra assessed that espionage and foreign intervention activities are realities that must be faced seriously.
According to him, many of these activities often operate in grey areas, making them difficult to reach with conventional legal instruments.
He believes Indonesia requires clear regulation to strengthen the protection of national strategic interests.
He noted that the idea of an Anti-Espionage and Foreign Intervention Law needs to be comprehensively studied while maintaining a balance between state security, democracy, and civil liberties.
He also emphasised the importance of strengthening counter-intelligence and inter-agency coordination to detect various forms of foreign influence that have the potential to disrupt sovereignty and the safety of citizens.