JAKARTA: In Indonesia, the term “hacker” is often viewed negatively, with most people linking it to criminal activities and other problems, but some hackers want to assist hacking victims and prevent future cybersecurity threats.
The members of this group identify themselves as ethical hackers or white-hat hackers, which implies the use of their hacking skills for good, rather than for malicious purposes.
Agus Setya Rahmaddin, a cybersecurity consultant at Vantage Point Security Indonesia told The Jakarta Post yesterday that interactions within the ethical-hacker community had become more frequent after a rise in cases related to cybersecurity issues in the country.
Agus, who is an active member of IndoXploit and Ethical Hacker Indonesia, said some cases in the country were linked to online gambling and illegal peer-to-peer lending platforms.
During the first 10 months of last year, Indonesia saw around 361 million cyberattacks according to the National Cyber and Encryption Agency.
Agus went on to say that some people have sought to hire ethical hackers as a solution, as it is difficult to identify the attackers, such as is the case with hacked social media accounts.
He said he first started the practice when he helped regain control of a social media account belonging to his cousin years ago. Some of his companions also reported receiving threats and extortion after suffering cyberattacks, which he later assisted them with.
However, recovering a social media account can be a difficult task, especially recovering personal information that was previously entered on social media, as hackers often make changes to these details.
Agus said he has never provided a fixed price before completing his work.
“I don’t [provide the price upfront] because there can be unexpected problems, and sometimes they can be solved and sometimes they can’t,” Agus said.
Bunga, a Malang-based social media influencer whose identity was stolen, once sought ethical-hacker assistance to reclaim her 10,000-follower Instagram account when it was hacked in 2021.
However, the effort did not come to fruition, forcing her to start over as a social media influencer.
Miftah Fadhli, privacy and technology law researcher at the Atma Jaya Institute of Public Policy, said ethical hacking in Indonesia had also gained traction from clients in business and commercial sectors.
He said that these groups assisted corporations in performing cybersecurity audits that require a third party to ensure the company performs them thoroughly and independently.
He also believes personal-data protection associations must be enhanced in order to fully incorporate ethical hackers. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
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