Budi Rahardjo: Data Privacy Regulations in Indonesia Remain Lax
Jakarta: Issues of data leaks and privacy breaches by a number of internet-based services have recently drawn public attention. This has become a cause for concern, as the majority of people now use, or even rely heavily on, the internet.
Lecturer in the Computer Engineering Expertise Group (KK), School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (STEI), Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Ir. Budi Rahardjo, M.Sc., Ph.Dexplains that security is closely related to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Confidentiality that is personal in nature is then referred to as privacy.
Budi said there are two types of privacy: stricter and looser. "In Europe, privacy is a very strict concern. There are numerous regulations and mechanisms that must be adhered to. Indonesia itself is one of the more lax countries. This is somewhat influenced by the kinship system prevalent in society," Budi said, as quoted by laman ITB, Selasa, 12 Mei 2020.
Budi stated that the privacy bill in Indonesia has actually been in the works for a long time, but has yet to reach an agreement. He believes that while privacy regulations should not be overly stringent, there must still be clear regulations for data held by business entities to prevent it from being traded.
"This is intended to ensure that businesses such as MSMEs do not have difficulty operating due to limited resources," explained Budi.
However, there have been cases where fintech companies offering credit, for example, access the borrower's contact information and contact their mobile phone number to help collect the debt. This type of practice deserves strict action as it violates privacy, as the Financial Services Authority (OJK) prohibits it.
"Written privacy regulations are certainly important, but we must also consider our comfort with the entire culture. Discussions and discussions are necessary; there will undoubtedly be pros and cons," he said.
Budi gave an analogy: when we leave the house, we must lock the door. The same applies when we're surfing the internet; we need to provide adequate security protection, namely by providing a password.
The password you set should not contain easily guessed letters or numbers. "To create a barrier for hackers, it's best to create a different password for each application," he said.
The chosen password should also not be directly related to the user, such as their birth date or address. It's also recommended to have at least eight characters, as six characters is already very easy to crack.
“The stranger the combination and the more characters it has, the more permutations are needed to crack our password,” Budi replied.
In addition to having a password that is not easy to guess, we are also advised to have malware protection or other protection that can provide special notifications if there are signs of hacking on our account.
"Also, make sure you don't fall for scams claiming to offer raffles or prizes, because once you click on the link, they could potentially breach your security system," Budi stressed.
Bluetooth should also not be left on carelessly. Something like forgetting to turn it off can potentially make our data easily downloaded. "Security is always at odds with convenience. If we want everything to be safe, then we must be brave enough to choose paths that may be less comfortable," added the lecturer and IT security entrepreneur.
He recommends having two phones: one for daily use and another for data and important tasks like mobile or internet banking. "We also need to update our apps and verify our important accounts," he explained.
According to him, there are many ways hackers can compromise private data. One of them is using public Wi-Fi. While difficult, Budi said, Wi-Fi, as a shared channel, can also potentially decrypt our accounts.
Therefore, our applications must be able to withstand such vicious hacking attempts. "In this virtual world, there will always be code makers and code breakers, and along the way, code makers will sometimes win, while code breakers will also lose, and the battle will continue like this," he said.
Therefore, Budi said, society needs to rethink privacy security from a cultural perspective that's sometimes too lax, such as listing birth dates, school affiliations, and family photos on social media.
Because all the information we upload makes it easy for people to track us. Even ID card information can be used to commit fraud by changing the person's phone number and hacking their mobile banking, as well as the currently popular scam of fake bank accounts.
"Not to mention the issue of leaked mobile phone numbers, which are a method of fraud, involving requests to transfer money by informing them that a relative or family member is sick or needs help," he concluded.