A cyberattack on Indonesia’s National Data Centre has severely compromised hundreds of government offices and disrupted operations at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
The attackers, demanding an $8 million ransom, have caused significant delays and operational challenges, highlighting the country’s vulnerabilities in cybersecurity.
The attack, orchestrated using software from the notorious Russian ransomware group LockBit, affected 210 institutions at both national and local levels.
As a result, passengers at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport experienced long queues at immigration gates due to system failures.
Efforts are currently underway to restore services, including those at immigration. Authorities are investigating the incident, focusing on a ransomware variant called Brain Cipher, which has encrypted government data and rendered it inaccessible.
LockBit, a global threat in the cybersecurity landscape, is infamous for targeting governments, companies, schools, and hospitals.
The group has been responsible for a significant portion of ransomware attacks worldwide, reportedly extracting over $1 billion in ransoms to date.
In response to LockBit’s activities, the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia have imposed sanctions on the group’s leader.
Europol has identified major targets of LockBit’s operations, including the US, UK, France, Germany, and China.
Indonesia’s cybersecurity record has been notably poor, with frequent data leaks and significant breaches in recent years.
The country faced notable cybersecurity challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic, exposing systemic weaknesses in its digital infrastructure.
