Police Strengthen Cyber Capabilities as Officer Completes Cybercrime Studies at NYU

The Indonesian National Police’s need for law enforcement officials who understand cyber security at a policy level, not just technical enforcement, has gained a new asset. Stefanus Wishnu Brata Mahaprajna, a police officer and 2022 graduate of the Police Academy, completed the MS in Global Security, Conflict, and Cybercrime programme at New York University in May 2026. The programme, which he attended from July 2024, positions cybercrime as part of the global security landscape and inter-state conflict, rather than a standalone technological issue. The curriculum covered cyber security policy, cyber governance, digital threat assessment, and international strategies for responding to cross-jurisdictional cybercrime. Two extracurricular activities formed a key part of his studies. The first was a comparative study visit to the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA) in New York, a public-private partnership model that serves as a benchmark for sharing threat intelligence between law enforcement, industry, and academia. The second was a Cyber Practicum at the Cyber Collective, a non-profit organisation focused on digital security and privacy. During the practicum, Wishnu was involved in mitigating digital threats, developing cyber security strategies, and formulating an Incident Response Plan, a document that determines who does what in the first critical hours after an incident is detected. Wishnu noted that the transnational and ever-evolving nature of cyber threats demands a pre-arranged response framework, rather than a reaction after an incident occurs. ‘Through this education, I learned the fundamental considerations in formulating cyber security policy, including how to build a systematic response when a cybercrime incident happens,’ he said. He expressed hope that he could apply this approach within his institution. ‘Going forward, I hope to contribute to developing the police force’s capability in facing the ever-evolving challenges of digital security,’ he added. This capacity building is taking place amid a rising intensity of cyber threats targeting both the public and private sectors in Indonesia. The availability of personnel who can translate technical threats into institutional policy is considered a prerequisite for national digital resilience.