Indonesian President And Intelligence’s Data Hit By Cyberattack
China-based hackers reportedly breached the internal networks of at least 10 government institutions, including the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) in an alleged cyberespionage campaign.
Furthermore, it highlights Indonesia’s vulnerability to cyber threats and its lack of strong data protection regulation. The Insikt Group, a research division of threat intelligence company Recorded Future, discovered the breach.
As per reports from The Record, it detected Mustang Panda’s PlugX malware, operating within the networks of Indonesian government agencies.
In addition, Insikt researchers managed to trace the malware’s presence on the network back to at least March 2021. What remains a mystery is how the hackers breached government systems or which networks were compromised first.
Indonesian Intelligence Yet to Fully Recover
Insikt Group researchers notified Indonesian authorities about the intrusions in June this year and then again in July. Officials did not provide feedback on the reports.
BIN, the most sensitive target compromised by the campaign, did not return requests for comment from The Record in July and August. A source familiar with the investigation told The Record last month that authorities had taken steps to identify and clean the infected systems.
Days later, Insikt researchers confirmed that hosts inside Indonesian government networks were still communicating with the Mustang Panda malware servers.
Part of China’s sprawling cyber-espionage campaigns
News of this intrusive cyber-espionage effort comes as the two countries have been re-establishing close diplomatic relations after almost reaching armed conflict a few years ago, primarily due to marine territorial disputes.
Currently the second-largest investor in Indonesia, China has been cozying up to Indonesian provinces over the past two years to facilitate increased trade and further its implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.
However, a foreign policy initiative to invest in neighboring countries to establish lasting political ties and trade agreements. Notably, these investments haven’t always been welcome, with some countries seeing them as a Trojan horse for their economies.
