7 days ago
Political motivations behind rising cyberattacks in Indonesia in mid-2025, report says
JAKARTA: Online intimidation against critics of public officials and government policies in the form of cyberattacks has risen in Indonesia in the second quarter of this year, according to a recent report.
The report, released by digital rights advocacy groups South-east Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) on Wednesday (July 30), recorded 168 incidents of cyberattack between April and June.
The figure rose from 139 in the first quarter of the year and 90 in the same period in 2024. The attacks, which peaked in May with 65 cases, ranged from hacking and account suspensions to doxing and identity theft.
But digital intimidation remained the most prominent type of attack with 42 cases. Among the list of victims, students were found to be the most targeted with 40 incidents involving them.
They were followed by private employees, ordinary citizens and activists with 25, 23 and 16 incidents, respectively. 'Compared to the first quarter, we found more cyberattacks with political overtones,' SAFEnet's head of freedom of expression M. Hafizh Nabiyyin said during the report's launch.
Some incidents were found to be related to many hot-button political issues. An example was several Instagram users who had their accounts suspended after criticising the controversial revision of the Indonesian Military Law, which was passed by the House of Representatives in March despite public opposition.
Account suspensions also occurred against users criticising the controversial nickel mining operation in Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua, after environmental group Greenpeace Indonesia shared videos showing nickel mining activities in one of the islands in the area.
SAFEnet also noted that at least eight people experienced cyberattacks after posting satirical comments on X pertaining to the alleged involvement of Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and former communications minister Budi Arie Setiadi in illegal gambling operations. Both politicians have denied the allegations.
After posting their contents, the eight users reportedly received a barrage of anonymous calls and messages through WhatsApp from domestic and international numbers, including ones coming from Thailand and the Philippines.
'The callers forced the victims to delete their posts and threatened to leak sensitive personal data such as their mothers' name, licence plate numbers as well as ID card photos and numbers,' the group wrote in the report, alleging that the attacks showed 'a clear political motive to suppress public dissent'.
Another case saw a stand-up comedian being targeted after making jokes about West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi during a performance in the provincial capital of Bandung in May. After the clip of his performance went viral, several Instagram and TikTok accounts doxxed the comedian and his relatives' home addresses.
'This phenomenon indicates a new form of politically motivated digital repression, which not only intimidates, but also undermines the sense of security in expressing opinions in online public spaces,' the reports said.
SAFEnet noted that platforms under tech company Meta remained the most common sites of attacks, with 68 incidents recorded on Instagram, 53 on Whatsapp and 18 on Facebook. Other platforms, such as X and TikTok, saw at least 10 cases each.
The report also highlighted other pressing digital rights issues, including a spike in online gender-based violence with 665 reported cases, higher than 422 reported in the first quarter of 2025 or the 465 during the same period in 2024.
The rights group still welcomed a much-lauded Constitutional Court ruling on the Electronic Information and Transactions Law in April, in which justices prohibited its use by the government and corporations against their critics. However, SAFEnet emphasised that the ruling has not fully guaranteed freedom of expression in the digital realm so far.
'To date, there is still a tendency to criminalise others using the cyberlaw's loose articles, which often continues into a formal investigation and even the court process,' the group wrote in the report, 'which could harm the victims' financial, physical or psychological state.'
The Jakarta Post asked the Presidential Communication Office (PCO) for a comment on the report. But PCO expert staff Insaf Albert Tarigan declined to comment, saying on Thursday (Aug 1) that he had not heard about the report. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
