VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) currently continues to trace the reason behind the alleged hacking of a database containing information of the country's COVID-19 patients that was circulated in cyberspace recently.

"The COVID-19 database and evaluation results of the Kominfo data center are safe," Minister of Communication and Informatics Johnny G. Plate noted via a text message on Saturday.

The ministry is currently in the process of tracking information on the alleged data breach and coordinating with the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN) in charge of COVID-19 data security in Indonesia.

Furthermore, the ministry is coordinating to conduct an evaluation of data centers in other ministries and institutions.

A hacker called Database Shopping sold a database of COVID-19 patients in Indonesia, dated June 18, to a dark web hacking forum, RaidForums.

The hackers claims the data was obtained during a data breach on May 20.

The spoiler feature on the dark web shows seized data, including the user ID, gender, age, telephone number, residence address, and patient status.

The hacker allegedly has 230 thousand users’ data in MySQL format uploaded on the dark web.

In May, a hacker on the dark web sold data of Tokopedia trading platform’s users.

Tokopedia confirmed an attempt to hack their security defenses, though the user data was confirmed to be safe.

In the meantime, in early May this year, the Tokopedia e-commerce platform identified the data leak. A hacker claimed responsibility for the leak and later contended to hold data comprising names, email addresses, and hashed passwords of 15 million Tokopedia users.

The estimated number of affected users was greater, reaching almost 91 million.

"On May 2, 2020, we became aware of the data theft of Tokopedia’s user information by an unauthorized third party," William Tanuwijaya, the Tokopedia CEO, noted in a statement on May 13.

Shortly after learning about the breach, Tokopedia notified users while launching an investigation and ensured that the accounts and transactions on the platform remained safe, according to Tanuwijaya.

"We continue to ensure that passwords are encrypted through a one-way encryption process," Tanuwijaya stated.

The online shop company also collaborated with the Ministry of Communication and Informatics and National Cyber and Crypto Agency to investigate the case, he revealed.

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy began livestreaming an event called "Socialization Toward a New Normal in the Tourism and Creative Economy Sector" through YouTube on Saturday and will continue on Sunday.

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Wishnutama Kusubandio noted in a statement received here, Saturday, that the current conditions necessitate all parties to adapt while staying optimistic that the COVID-19 pandemic would be overcome by continuing to implement a disciplined health protocol.

"All levels of the public and stakeholders are expected to implement health protocols with full responsibility and discipline in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and avoid the threat of a second wave of the disease," the minister stated.

The event, initiated by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, with support from the DKI Jakarta Tourism and Creative Economy Office, also bore the spirit of welcoming the 493th Anniversary of Jakarta and aimed at disseminating information of the new normal that stressed on practicing and applying concepts focusing on cleanliness, health, and safety in the tourism and creative economy sectors.

The public's disciplined approach to adhere to health protocols, including maintaining a safe required distance between one another, washing hands, and using masks while venturing outdoors, is expected help re-instill a sense of confidence among foreign tourists to visit the country.

"This certainly can build the image of Indonesia as a country that is ready to transition to a new normal era, which is very influential in the efforts to build global trust in the country," he stated.

Various partners, including Grand Indonesia Mall, BRI Bank, and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, partook in the event. Furthermore, representatives from e-commerce platforms Blibli, Bukalapak, JD.id, Lazada, Shopee and Tokopedia; transportation companies comprising Blue Bird, Gojek, and Grab; tourism industry players, including the Accor Group, Ancol, the Thousand Islands, and Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, as well as the KontrakHukum, took part in the event.

Apart from being enlivened through the official digital media channel, an exhibition showcasing products of micro, small, and medium businesses was also held at the Grand Indonesia Mall.

The ministry cooperated with partners' platforms for online integration to limit the number of people to prevent crowding though yet targeting to grab the attention of the public en masse.

Indonesia's state gas utility PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) will begin construction on a 367-kilometer (km) crude oil pipeline in the Rokan Block, Riau, in July.

The project, located in the corridors of Minas-Duri-Dumai and Balam-Bangko Dumai, will connect the Rokan oil block to Pertamina's Dumai refinery in the province.

PGN's Director of Infrastructure and Technology Redy Ferryanto stated here on Friday that the project aimed to boost synergy between subsidiaries of the PT Pertamina Group.

The project is projected to boost oil production and lifting from the Rokan Block, the backbone of national oil production, which constitutes one-third of the country's output.

"With a budget allocation of some US$300 million, PGN has cut capital expenditure, with the efficiency of some 30 percent. The project is estimated to become one of PGN's major projects in its target of capital expenditure for 2020. The Financial Investment Decision (FID) of the Rokan pipelines project is expected to optimize efforts to enhance efficiency," he noted.

Ferryanto affirmed that 250 thousand barrels of oil per day will be transported from Rokan to Pertamina’s refinery in Dumai.

The construction project is targeted for completion by the end of 2021.

The pipeline comprises 12 segments and three stations: Duri, Dumai, and Manifold Batang.

Pertagas, part of Indonesia's Gas Holding, will handle the construction project as well as its operations and maintenance.

The project is envisioned to have a positive impact to augment the company's revenue from crude oil transportation business, particularly for its contractors of the cooperation contract (KKKS), such as PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI), BOB Bumi Siak Posako, and other KKKS.

"Construction of the pipelines is a national strategic project to support national energy resilience. Oil production in the Rokan Block is expected to increase national oil lifting as primary energy to boost the national economy," Ferryanto added. (ANTARA)

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, at a webinar on MSME adaptations in the new normal, in Jakarta on Friday (June 19, 2020). (ANTARA/Dewa Wiguna/ac)

More than 300 thousand micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia made the shift to digital platforms in wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs.

Between May 14, 2020 and June 9, 2020, as many as 301,115 micro, small, and medium enterprises underwent a digital transformation, said Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, at a webinar on MSME adaptations in the new normal, in Jakarta on Friday.

The Coordinating Minister urged other MSMEs to take advantage of the momentum to increase their market penetration, as there has been a substantial shift in the market's consumption pattern from conventional to digital platforms.

He revealed the sectors of business that have surged significantly online include household needs, which has shown a 400-percent increase, followed by beauty products, which has grown by 80 percent, fashion (40 percent), and delivery services, which have seen a 35-percent jump.

The potential value of the digital economy is predicted to be higher this year at around US$35 billion and is projected to reach US$101 billion in 2025.

According to the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), there were 64.1 million SMEs in Indonesia, as of the first half of 2019.

As many as 63.3 million, or 98.6 percent, of the total SMEs operated micro-businesses, while the rest were medium-business operators (1.2 percent) and medium enterprises (0.09 percent).

Of the 64.2 million MSME actors, only 13 percent, or around 8.3 million, MSMEs have utilized digitalization in running their businesses. (ANTARA)