Short on People and Capital, Indonesia Remains Weak and Unprepared

Wars in recent times do not rely solely on attacks with sophisticated weapons like missiles. In the digital realm, involved countries often attack and hack prominent figures and key institutions of their adversaries.

One such incident involved Kash Patel, Director of the US Intelligence Department (FBI), who fell victim to a hacking group from Iran amid the intense conflict between the two nations. The FBI chief’s personal email was breached, leading to the exposure of private photos and documents on the internet.

Some of the published photos included Patel smoking a cigar, driving a vintage convertible car, and making a facial expression while taking a selfie in the mirror with a large bottle of rum.

If a cyber war were to occur involving Indonesia, are we prepared to face it?

Defri Nofitra, Country Manager of Kaspersky Indonesia, links this readiness to human resources. In Indonesia, talent in this area remains quite low, particularly regarding cybersecurity.

To date, there are only two undergraduate programmes specifically in cybersecurity in Indonesia, one of which is at Telkom University. According to him, talents are rarely directed towards specialising in that field.

“That is why we feel it is still lacking, that cybersecurity people, for example in banks, SOC graduates in cybersecurity are only a handful; most learn on their own,” explained Defri in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/4/2026).

Even apart from cyber wars, companies in Indonesia are not yet prepared for attacks that occur. They do not yet consider cybersecurity important for boosting business.

This happens in almost all sectors. Yet, investment should be made to continue growing.

“So people still think, if someone wants to double their business, the cybersecurity budget won’t double. This is not right,” he said.

“If you want to grow, you must invest. Invest in tools, human resources,” he added.