The Indonesian government has urged commercial banks to enhance their cybersecurity systems to address the growing number of hacker threats, after detecting and blocking up to 1.6 million suspected cyber threat activities within 24 hours.
Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, said that every bank needs to continuously improve its digital defense systems to protect itself from potential cyberattacks.
Speaking to reporters at his office in Jakarta on Monday, Airlangga emphasized that each bank must prioritize strengthening cybersecurity, especially as financial transactions increasingly move to digital platforms that require stringent protection.
He stated that cyber threats are not unique to Indonesia but represent a global challenge, as digital banking systems worldwide face attempts at intrusion and tests of their resilience against cyber threats.
This warning comes amid rising cybercrime posing a threat to the global financial sector, with many financial institutions worldwide reporting security breaches and system disruptions over recent months.
On Thursday, France's Crédit Mutuel Arkéa bank disclosed that hackers stole about 100 million euros (approximately 112.61 million U.S. dollars). The bank is working to track and recover the stolen funds while French prosecutors have launched an investigation into the incident, which was publicly revealed a day earlier.
This case is considered unusual, as cybercriminals managed to steal money directly from a mainstream bank.
Additionally, financial institutions in Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia are facing various cybersecurity incidents, including unauthorized access to customer accounts, data theft, and financial fraud.
Indonesia Blocks 1.6 Million Cyber Threats Within 24 Hours
FortiGuard Labs reported that Indonesia's systems detected and blocked approximately 1.6 million suspected cyber threat activities within 24 hours, up to Monday, averaging about 19 incidents per second.
However, cybersecurity expert Alfons Tanujaya explained that this figure does not necessarily indicate an unusual spike in cyberattacks in Indonesia, since many detected activities are automated scans by botnets and other software searching for security vulnerabilities, rather than successful computer system breaches.
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