Cyber Security Threats as a Classic Challenge in the Internet World

BANDUNG, itb.ac.id — Technological prowess must supported by the ability to manage and maintain the technological system. This later became the topic of discussion in the Academic, Community Service and Research Talks (BINAAR) held by the School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (SEEI ITB).

With the theme cybersecurity, the event was hosted by Ir. Budi Rahardjo, M.Sc., Ph.D., who is a lecturer in the Computer Engineering Research Group, the 8th BINAAR STEI which was held online on Friday (25/11/2022).

Based on data as of February 2022, there are around 204.7 million internet users in Indonesia. This large population opens up huge internet-based market opportunities and digital technology. If there is no proper attention and management in responding to a market of this size, then the control of the Indonesian internet and technology market will be taken over by other countries.

“The market is 200 million. If we don’t take this, Google, Facebook, and so on will take it. The problem is we are not ready yet. We are not ready technologically, not ready with the human resources, not ready financially,” Budi explained. The adoption of internet-based technology and social media is now being intensively carried out. Various kinds of applications and service platforms for transportation, e-commerce, travel, to finance, all can be easily accessed.

Behind this potential, there are also risks from the use of the internet in human daily life. The most common threat is data leakage. Leaked databases can be caused by user negligence or weak system security. The threat of data leakage is not only felt by individual users, but also by large companies that are equipped with sophisticated data security technology. Even though data leaks are very vulnerable and can occur at any time, prevention efforts must always be made through layered protection and the development of a better security system.

The next threat that is no less risky is ransomware. Ransomware is a type of malware that hackers use to encrypt data so that it cannot be read by the user’s device. To be able to reuse the data, the user must use the encryption code which is usually obtained after giving the hacker a ransom. Apart from ransomware on user data, threats of hacking and data manipulation can also occur on blockchain systems. Hackers will usually change or randomize data on a list of transactions that have not been validated so that it will cause problems with these transactions. All threats on the internet are carried out by actors known as cyber threat intelligence.

Budi further explained, “All systems have vulnerabilities. And usually we use protection such as a firewall to protect the system from outside threats. But actually the problem is still there because it comes from the system itself. If the protection used is safe enough, it’s still okay. But if not, external threats attack security, then security incidents will occur.”

According to Budi, cybersecurity problems are caused by four main factors, namely weak passwords, software that is not updated, fraud that takes advantage of human weaknesses (social engineering), and the transition from network security to application security.

In dealing with existing security threats, developers are expected to be able to create better security applications and systems. On the other hand, users in general must also increase cyber understanding and literacy so that the data security system and its devices are better maintained.